Trials of the Predator
by Nobel Six
Summary: (Written with The Dark Lord Duroth, and Darkest Nightmare's Dread) A vigilante running from his past is offered a chance by S.H.I.E.L.D. to become the newest hero on Spider-Man's team. However his past is not going to let him go without a fight.
1. Chapter 1

Predator's p.o.v

"Come on, is that all you got?"

I laughed as the street crook swung an empty beer bottle at me. It shattered uselessly against my body armor. He looked down and stared dumbly stared at the broken bottle, and then looked back at me.

Leaning down until I was eye to eye with him, I whispered in my most threatening voice, "You should probably surrender now." He apparently didn't get the message, and instead turned around and began running at full sprint towards the entrance to the alley I had cornered him in.

He didn't make it ten feet before my grappling hook hit him square in the back. The claw lit up blue as I triggered the taser, and the lowlife crook collapsed, twitching. I grabbed the purse he had stolen and started towards the entrance to the alley.

"Who… are you?" the foiled purse-snatcher wheezed. I turned back and let him stare into the empty black visor of my helmet.

"I'm the Predator, punk." I spat as him, and then walked out of the alley to return the purse to its rightful owner.

*30 minutes later*

'That was a successful night.' I thought to myself as I reviewed my night of do-gooding.

I now sat atop a rather large apartment complex letting my feet dangle over the edge as I pondered the events of that night. The elderly woman had been grateful for the return of her purse, but had been understandably standoffish. I do, after all, wear a suit of armor that looks as if I would be happy to rip somebody's face off. And that's _without_ the weapons systems active.

Still, stopping purse-snatchers was supposed to be a good deed, right? And good deeds are supposed to make you feel happy and fuzzy inside?

No.

I just felt confused. I couldn't explain it, but it felt like a voice in the back of my head saying that I should have beaten that little purse-snatching punk into a bloody pulp for his crimes.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts, and pressed a button on my gauntlet. A wrist mounted holographic display lit up, displaying the local news. It seemed as though my latest deed was the top story of the hour, and the reporters were having a field day with it.

"This is attention grabbing, pure and simple!" the anchorman Brent Summers scoffed.

"I mean look at this guy," he said, and a picture of me appeared next to him on the screen. "He looks like he just stepped off of an alien b-movie set! And he calls himself 'Predator?' Ladies and gentlemen, we have quite the little Mister Original here!"

I sighed as I turned off the projection and slowly removed my helmet. Yes it was true that I looked exactly like a Predator from the movies, and yes it was also true that we shared the same name, but we didn't act the same way.

The movie characters were savage killers, and while it was true that I could go a little savage while dishing out helpings of justice, I would never go as far as those beings of fiction would go. I would never torture somebody, or hang his body from a tree as a warning to all criminals.

The worst I would do was beat him unconscious and leave him for the cops.

 _'But you weren't always like that,'_ a tiny voice reminded me. I shook my head to chase that voice away. If there was anything I did not want to remember, it was what I had done back then.

Suddenly my gauntlets controls lit up red and gave a high pitched alarm, indicating an emergency situation. I quickly replaced my helmet and activated the gauntlets controls. My helmet immediately filled with the sounds of police radio chatter.

"Aha, what's this?" I said to myself.

 _"All units, we have an active supervillain in the area. Suspect has been identified as Kraven, and is headed towards Sun Life stadium…"_ the dispatcher began to list street names and calling in any available cops.

I smiled, though nobody would be able to see it through my armored face. I looked down and spotted a ledge on a building just across from where I had been siting. My helmets HUD lit up and began crunching numbers, calculating wind speed, elevation, power levels in less than a second. Then my prospective LZ lit up green and I jumped.

My feet hit the building with a solid crunch, my armor absorbing the impact. I kept up the pace, leaping from building to building and using my grappling hook to cover larger distances.

'What's Kraven doing in town?' I wondered.

"Computer, access archives on Kraven." I ordered the operational computer that ran throughout my armor. A picture of the super villain appeared on my HUD and a simple autotone program began to read the file aloud.

Yikes.

This Kraven was a dangerous one. As in, Top bounty, wanted just about anywhere, and recorded by SHIELD as a high risk villain. He was to be taken very seriously.

I shuddered- if Kraven was as bad as all that, then there was no telling what he would do to this place if he was allowed to run loose. Miami was my city, and I would not allow a super villain to come in unwelcomed and trash it.

According to the police scanner, Kraven was moving towards the stadium that was home to the Miami Dolphins. Somewhat better was the police's observation that Kraven was just running. He wasn't turning to fight, even though he could have turned the Miami Police into breakfast grits. He had to be running from something else- or some _one_ else.

After several more minutes of moving through downtown Miami, I spotted the flashing lights of a dozen cop cars as they chased after a someone on a motorcycle- Kraven.

'You won't get away from me,' I thought.

"Give me a cutoff point." I ordered the computer. In response, a green line appeared on my HUD, predicting the best point to intercept Kraven. I smirked as I turned away from the chase and headed towards my new destination _._

Roughly two minutes later my armored feet made contact with the roof of an empty office building. From here I had a perfect vantage point of the road that Kraven would be coming down in another minute.

The computers calculations were flawless. From my position, I could easily bottleneck, trap or snipe Kraven. So many lovely options.

"Come to me my prey." I said in a sing-song voice as I waited for Kraven to arrive like the Predator that I was. A plan was already piecing itself together in my head.

Once my target came into range I would fire a grappling hook at him and, using the building as an anchor, effectively pull him off his bike and onto the roof where I was waiting.

And who was to say that I couldn't introduce him to the wall a few times as I dragged him up- no. I wasn't that person anymore.

The sounds of police sirens and a loud motorcycle soon echoed up the street and my smile faded. I had to time this shot perfectly- Kraven wasn't to be underestimated at all. If I moved too soon, he might see me and take evasive action. If I moved too late, he would already be out of range by the time I was ready to shoot.

"Come on, come on." I anxiously whispered as I counted the nauseating seconds that separated me from launching my grapple.

 _Now!_ I stepped up to the edge of the roof and fired the grappling hook. It struck the unsuspecting villain in the back and pulled him roughly off his motorcycle towards my vantage point.

The motorcycle fell on its side and skidded along the road, shedding sparks. The police cars pulled to a stop behind it, confused by the sudden lack of Kraven.

In the meantime, I waited patiently for the grappling hooks' reel to pull Kraven up to the roof, where I disconnected the cable and dropped him roughly on the ground.

"Sorry to drag you up here," I taunted as I took up a fighting stance, "but I can't have you trashing my city."

Kraven got to his feet and gave a bone chilling laugh.

"You don't know what you have gotten yourself into, do you?" he asked in his intimidating voice, while he looked me up and down, estimating his next move.

"I know what I'm doing." I said calmly as I began to circle the hunter.

"I believe you have overestimated your abilities, mister…?" he asked. He backed away from me and began circling as well.

"Predator." I said.

"Predator," Kraven laughed, "I hope you realize that I'm a hunter- I hunt _Predators_ for a living." He drew a long hunting knife from his belt. The blade itself looked normal enough, but the red glow surrounding the blade was most assuredly not. I did not want to get hit by that thing.

"Good to know," I said as I flexed my wrist and two claws came out of both my wrists, "Just so you know, the people who build my armor modeled me after the Predator from the movies, so naturally the claws come with the armor." I stated as I stopped circling and took a fighting stance.

"I hope you're ready for the pain your about to endure," he began as he too took a fighting stance, his dagger held firmly in his right hand. "Last chance to just walk away, and act like you didn't see anything."

I tusked disapprovingly. "Aw, Kraven, you're peacocking. I think I'll take you up on that boast."

Kraven's eye twitched in response, and I charged at him, claws out.

Kraven sidestepped my attack and swung his knife, but I parried it with my right gauntlet. The hit barely scratched my armor; it would take more than a nick to penetrate it.

Kraven pressed forwards, slashing at me with his knife. I stepped under one of his strikes and grabbed his weapon hand. A quick twist of the wrist, and I had an opening. I took it, smashing Kraven in the face with a left cross.

Kraven landed and a crumpled heap, and I smiled- first blood was mine! But someone with a record like Kraven's wasn't going to be that easy.

"Impressive," Kraven hissed as he got back up. "But not enough." Kraven rolled towards me and sprang up under my guard. His aim was true, and his hunting knife slipped between my armors ribbing to land a hit on my side.

"Ahh!" I gasped in pain.

"You see what I mean?" Kraven taunted as he prepared another attack. "You're in way over your head kid." He lunged forwards-

-Just in time for me to bat his knife aside and land a double fisted punch to his chest.

Before Kraven could recover, I had tagged him with my grappling hook.

"You think this cable can hold me!?" he raged as he tried to remove the hook.

"Not the cable, no." I said. The grappling hook lit up blue and there was a happy crackle as Kraven tasted taser. He moaned and collapsed.

"Now, then," I said as I cuffed Kraven's hands behind his back, "I want some answers. First off, what where you doing here in Miami?" Kraven laughed weakly and spat in my face.

Although the armor protected me from his saliva, it could not protect me from the rage that was now boiling my blood.

"Don't say I didn't ask nicely!" I snarled as I raised the claws on my right and prepared to strike him. But before I could, something caught my hand from behind, preventing me from striking Kraven. I turned to see what had stopped me.

I was puzzled to see what appeared to be a sticky white rope had attached itself to the back of my hand. It looked like… a web.

Oh, boy.

"He's beaten, man; want to lay off him?" said Spider-Man.

"I want to finish what I started," I snarled. "So stay out of the way!" I reached over with my left hand and tried to tear his webs off of my right.

"That's not an option I like," Spider-Man said, and yanked back on his web, nearly pulling me over. "What's option B?"

In response, I cocked my left arm back over my head and shot a grappling hook at him. It hit, and I triggered the taser. Spider-Man cried out in pain and let go of his webs.

He collapsed, and said weakly, "I don't like option B either…"

"Sorry I had to do that, but I did warn you." I apologized as I turned my attention back towards my target. But Kraven had apparently taken advantage of my distraction: he was gone. I snarled in frustration as I realized that my chance of getting information was gone. I turned slowly back towards Spider-Man.

"You have any idea what you have ju-." I began before something hit me hard in the back of the head. I stumbled forwards and turned around. What had that been?

Apparently it had been a white gloved fist, which then connected with my face. Oh, yes. Spider-Man rarely left New York alone…

I collapsed and everything went black.

Third person p.o.v

White Tiger stood over the collapsed form of the scumbag who had just been about to attack Spider-Man.

Analyzing her unconscious foe she saw that every inch of his body was covered by a grayish steel armor, almost like Iron Mans.' But the design was rather different; it almost looked like a Predator from those old movies.

Her gaze was shifted when she heard her friend moan loudly.

"You ok, Peter?" she asked him as she held out her hand for him.

"A little numb in places, but I'll live." he said as he took her hand and got to his feet. Spider-Man turned to look at his attacker.

"What should we do with him?" White Tiger asked.

"What do you think we should do?" Spider-Man said rather haplessly.

"I say we take him in. We might have lost Kraven, but I'm sure Fury won't mind us bringing in another criminal." White Tiger said with disgust.

"Alrighty, then." Spider-Man said as he activated his radio to contact the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

 **Alright chapter one is done. Tell me what you think. This is my first ever fic using different Point Of Views. I think I did a good job for my first time using first person. I will switch between First and third person. Tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Ouch."

Predator awoke. He rubbed his forehead and stared up at the blank gray ceiling of a S.H.I.E.L.D. containment cell. His head hurt something awful, thanks to the truck that had hit him.

"Ah, you're awake," said someone in a deep, somber voice. Predator turned to face the speaker: the famous Director Fury, head of the Strategic Homeland Initial… bleh. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s acronym was way too convoluted.

Fury stood on the other side of a blue energy shield that bisected the room. A prison cell. Great.

"Mind answering a few questions?" asked Fury.

"Come back later. I'm still recovering." Predator spat.

Somebody new walked into the room, a woman in a zebra striped cat suit. The mask covered all of her face, reducing her eyes to gold facets, but for some reason allowed her hair to escape out the back in a big poofy ponytail.

She looked…

"Aw, don't tell me you're still bleeding from the poke I gave you earlier, Iron Man wannabe," the woman said.

…Like a sardonic brat.

"White Tiger here and Spider-Man brought you in for attacking a super hero. Anything you'd like to say in response to that?" said Director Fury.

Predator sighed and sat up. "I was hunting Kraven. Spider-Man interrupted and let him escape."

"Forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical, Predator." Fury said in false consideration.

"What do you want from me?" Predator snarled. "That's the truth, whether or not you want to believe it. Your choice, Fury." Fury sighed and hung his head in disappointment.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue, or should I say Tiger?" Predator insulted his captor.

Fury frowned. "Alright, then. If that's how you want things…" The Director turned to White Tiger. "Would you handle this, please?"

"With pleasure," said White Tiger. Fury nodded at her and walked out of the room. The door shut with a loud *click.*

"Puh-lease," said Predator. "Think you can make me talk, Princess Ponytail?"

"Looks like we are about to find out, bucko." Tiger said in a singsong voice as she cracked her knuckles.

"I've been through much worse, Ponytail. What makes you think that you could do anything new?" Predator said. But he was nervous. The girl had managed to knock him out through his armor- that took some serious power. If she got down to it, she might do some damage even through his suit.

And he really didn't want to test that.

"You got a good point," Tiger observed, placing her hands on her hips. "But even super armor can only protect you for so long..." She sounded like she was smiling underneath her mask.

"That a threat?" Drat. She had called his bluff. What was he going to do now?

Then Director Fury walked back into the room. "Hold it, White Tiger. We've called in Tony Stark. If he can't pop our uncooperative friend out of his armor, nobody can."

"Aw," White Tiger pouted. "I was just gonna get started!" But she left with Director Fury.

Predator sat for a moment in silence. Tony Stark, huh? Fancy playboy dude, billionaire philanthropist? And mechanical genius? Great. He might not be able to take apart Predator's armor, but he could probably disable some very important stuff.

He stood up and stretched. "Sorry, Director Fury, but I'm going to have to take a rain check on this meeting of yours."

Predator flipped up a panel in his left gauntlet, just above his elbow. Therein was a big red button. He pressed it.

POP

Compacted EMP devices were very, very useful. The lights went out, the AC ground to a halt, and the energy shield fizzed out of existance.

'Why do people make their doors like that? Predator wondered. Especially in prison cells...'

In a flash, Predator was out of the containment cell and next to the steel door of the room. Let's see… the helmet computer analyzed the door, calculating composition, weight, durability and a variety of other factors. Aha! Predator punched the door on the frame, opposite the lock. His fist dug into the metal, and Predator wrenched up, then body slammed the door.

The door folded in half and collapsed into the outside hallway. There was the White Tiger lady.

She barely had a seconds notice before the Predator was on top of her. A quick kick to the face sent White Tiger flying backwards through the air. She hit the ground in a crumpled heap.

"Hey!"

There was a gunshot and a bullet whizzed past Predator's face. He turned to see Nick Fury aiming at him. Predator fired his grappling hook at the Fury, but the Director of SHIELD dodged quite handily. Then he grabbed a grenade off of his belt, pulled the pin, and threw it back at Predator.

"A grenade? Are you serious?" Predator laughed as he reached out and snagged the grenade out of midair, "this armor was made to withst-" The grenade didn't explode. It let off a piercing sonic shriek.

"Ahhhh!" Predator howled as he sank down unto one knee, and pressed his hands onto the part of his helmet that covered his ears.

"I don't care what the armor was made to withstand," Fury said as he looked down on Predator, "but I now know that you can't withstand noise at that frequency." Predator closed his hand holding the sonic grenade, crushing it. The high pitched wail stopped. Then Predator stood up and deployed his gauntlets claws.

"Last chance to get out of my way before I take you down!" Predator snarled as he got into a fighting stance. To his shock Fury stepped aside. But why look a gift horse in the mouth? Predator ran past him. However as he ran past Fury, he heard a strange pinging noise.

White Tigers p.o.v

A massive headache was the first sensation I felt as I regained conciseness.

"Ah, you're awake, Ava." Fury said. I looked up and saw him with an outstretched hand in front of him. I took his hand and allowed him to help me to my feet.

"Where is he?" I snarled as I quickly looked around.

"He's gone. I let him go." Fury stated as he crossed his arms. I felt the inner tiger roar inside of me upon hearing this.

"You let him go!?" I snarled.

"Well I let him leave, but I didn't let him go without having a way to track him down." Fury replied as he pulled a smart phone out of his coat.

"A tracker, I should have known." I said, realizing just what Fury had done. "Can we send the whole team after him now?"

"I think that you'll be all we need, Tiger," said Fury.

"Why me? I'm a little confused, Director Fury. Won't I need backup?" I asked him.

"Think about it; you scared him back there. I could tell..." Fury said before walking out the room. I smiled. Rematch!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"What where you looking for, Kraven?" Predator said to himself. He sat perched on top of a building that overlooked the empty Sun Life stadium. Once he had managed to escape from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s 'iron' grip, he made a beeline right back to Miami Florida to see what Kraven had been after.

"What am I missing?" he grumbled as he stared at the stadium. What exactly had Kraven been going in this direction for?

"You shouldn't think so hard," a familiar female voice said from right behind him, "You might hurt yourself." White Tiger. Predator sprung up from his sitting position and turned to face her with lighting speed.

"I'm not here to fight." Tiger said quickly, while raising her hands in surrender. Predator's response was to trigger the claws in his right gauntlet.

"Sure you are. What else would you have tracked me down for?" Predator snarled as he took up a fighting stance.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I'm here to help?" she said.

"Prove it." was Predator's reply as he continued to stare her down.

'Fury's going to kill me for this...' Tiger thought as she realized how stupid her plan was. Yet it might be the only way to pacify the armored man in front of her. She reached up to the bottom of her mask and slowly pulled it off.

Underneath his mask, Predator's eyes widened. Was this lady seriously revealing her secret identity? Super heroes were all sorts of crazy about secret identities!

White Tiger's skin and hair were, ironically, dark brown. And her eyes, behind the golden goggle things, were brown. And immediately the facial recognition program in Predator's helmet computer got to work. Ava Ayala, resident of New York City… underneath the mask, this lady was actually… pretty. He shook his head to chase such thoughts out of his mind. Now was not the time to admire this girl's charm.

"Why would you reveal your secret identity, Miss Ayala?" Predator asked, despite being almost sure of the answer.

Ava was shocked that Predator had pulled her name seemingly from out of thin air. But she decided to not let her surprise be visible in front of somebody who could rip her to shreds with a pair of two foot long claws.

"You said to prove I was here to help," she said. "So I did."

"Huh…" Predator stared at White Tiger for a moment. So the lady wanted to help. Now what? "Do you even know what I'm trying to do, Miss Ayala?"

"Likely hunt to hunt down Kraven," said Ava. "You seemed rather hung up on his escape."

Well, she was good. Predator had to give her that.

"Do you know by chance why he was in my city?"

"Our Intel suggests that he was hunting another local vigilante." She replied in all seriousness.

"So I'm not the one he was hunting?" Predator asked.

"No. I don't know who he was hunting, but Director Fury is looking into that." Ava said. The rooftop was quiet for a moment.

"That's not the main reason I'm here however..." she began, nervously twiddling her thumbs.

"If your not here to help with Kraven, than what are you actually here for?" Predator asked, putting distance between himself and Ava If they were to fight, he wanted some room.

"I'm here to offer you a choice." she simply answered.

"A choice? What are you talking about?" he asked her, his curiosity piqued.

"You have two options. One is that you continue to be freelance and defend this city alone," she paused to take a breathe before continuing. "Or you could come back to S.H.I.E.L.D. with me, and be part of a team."

"A team, you say..." Predator began skeptically. "No offense, but what makes you think I want to be part of a team?" He prepared to run, just in case things turned ugly. Chances were he could beat her, but she had managed to knock him out through his armor. He didn't want to know what she could do when it came down to an actual fight.

"Don't you ever wish you didn't have to go it alone?" Ava asked.

"I'm better on my own!" snapped Predator. "I don't have to worry about anyone, and I don't have to pick up others slack." He turned and began walking towards the edge of the building, away from Ava

"You're to scared to try."

Predator turned back to see Ava smiling at him.

"Scared? You think I'm scared of you?" he asked her.

"I _know_ your scared of me. But I also think you're scared of joining a team."

Predator took another step back.

"Look, I understand that you might not like being part of a team," said Ava, walking forward. "But you can benefit from the team just as much as we can benefit from you."

She stepped forwards and put her hand on his shoulder. "Just trust me, okay?"

Dang. Predator couldn't look her in the eyes– How long had it been since somebody had asked for his trust?

"I'll tell you what, Miss Ayala," he said. "I'll give it an honest try. But if it doesn't work out, then I want your word that you and your people will leave me alone. Do we have a deal?"

Ava pondered it; Predator was willing to take a chance with her, and she didn't want to disappoint.

"I'll accept your terms," Ava said. She removed her hand from his shoulder and held it out.

Predator couldn't help but stare at her face for a few seconds.

' _Maybe this wont be so bad,_ ' he though, and shook her hand.


	4. Chapter 4

Spider-Man sat nervously in the briefing room among the members of his team, waiting White Tiger's return from her recruitment mission. To say he was nervous was an understatement. He had pleaded to Fury to allow him, or another member of their team, to go with her, but to no avail. He had seen firsthand what her target was capable of- scratch that, he had felt what he was capable of.

"Maybe I should call her." he said, reaching for his communicator. Everyone else in the room groaned in exhasperation.

"You know White Tiger can handle herself, Spidey," Power Man said with a small laugh. "You know first hand what she can do if she gets mad."

"Yea, but this guy is dangerous. He took me down in one move," Spider-Man argued. Nova snorted before being cut off by Iron Fist.

"Do not doubt your teammate. Your concern is understandable, but Fury wouldn't have sent her alone if he didn't have full confidence in her abilities."

"Sorry to say this, Pete," Nova said, "But it sounds like your only worried about this guy because he took you on so easily. Trust me—that isn't hard!" Nova laughed, but Spider-Man shot a glob of webbing into his mouth, cutting him off.

"Not in the mood, Nova." Spider-Man said disapprovingly, getting up from his seat and beginning to pace around the room.

"You barely told us anything else about this guy, Spidey, other than what he did to you. Mind telling us what else there is to know?" Power Man asked, trying to get Spider-Man's mind off White Tiger.

"Well the guy looks like he came straight off a movie set for starters," Spider-Man said, still pacing. "He has gray armor, which looks like it's stuffed to the ears with weaponry." Nova ripped the last bit of web off his face and addressed his friend.

"No offense Pete, but I really want to meet this guy. Did he have a name or anything?"

"I think it was..." Spider-Man began before a new voice entered the room.

"Predator."

Everyone turned towards the sound of the voice to see the man that Spider-Man had been describing just moments ago.

"This is the guy who beat you in one shot?" Nova asked before bursting out laughing and pointing at Predator. "Your right, he does look like he just came off a movie set!"

"Got a problem with that, bucket head?" Predator retaliated with a snarl. Nova subsided, trying to think of a good comeback. There was a moment of silence.

"Maybe he ain't all bad." Spider-Man said with a laugh. Power Man and Iron Fist joined in.

"Nice to meet you, Predator." Iron Fist said while getting up and holding out his right hand.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Predator asked, eyeing the outstretched hand.

"Forgive me for not introducing my self. I am Iron Fist." He said and smiled.

"I'm Predator, but you already know that." Predator replied, shaking Iron Fist's hand.

"I'm Power Man." Power Man greeted as he to got up for a handshake as well.

"Come on guys, give the rookie some space." a familiar voice rang out as White Tiger entered the room. Spider-Man was relieved to see her OK, and in one piece. But he couldn't figure out why she had her mask off.

"Good to see you in one piece, Tiger." Spider-Man said in relief.

"I told you I could handle it. Predator ain't so bad once you get to know him." she said while giving Predator a pat on the back.

"Are you seriously counting the ride from Miami to New York as getting to know me?" Predator said.

Before she could reply Director Fury walked into the room and cleared his throat. The room fell silent.

"Good work in recruiting Predator, Ava." Fury said with an approving tone. Spider-Man felt a little weird that he had just used her real name in front of a rookie who didn't even know her.

"Nick, don't you think we shouldn't use our actual names in front of somebody we just met?" he asked seriously.

"Normally that would be the case. However Ava decided that the best way to win over Predator would be to reveal her identity. And we will be having a talk about that, Ava," Fury said.

"Why?" Predator said. "She took a gamble and it paid off. That's a win in my book." The room was deadly silent for a solid minute. Rarely did anyone challenge Director Fury.

"Since you've never been a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. you have no idea of how things work around here," Fury said calmly, "We have rules and procedures, and she was not authorized to do what she did."

Predator settled. However much he wanted to defend Ava, he couldn't stand against her superior when she had disobeyed orders.

"Now then. Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D., Predator," Fury said. "Since you've agreed to join on your own terms, I'm going to do something I've never done before. I'm issuing you a field handler."

"Define 'field handler,'" Predator said suspiciously.

"I'm issuing an agent to keep an eye on you, and to help you learn the basics." Fury replied.

"No offense, but I don't need somebody to show me the basics," Predator said. "I've defended Miami for months, I know what I'm doing."

"That was before you joined S.H.I.E.L.D.. Now you've got rules. You need to understand that my word is law around here. So you're going to have a field handler whether you like it or not." Fury said.

"Fine, I'll take your field handler," Predator growled. "Who's it going to be?"

"Ava will be your field handler," said Fury.

* * *

"We'll be sending you to the SHIELD Academy in a few days," said Ava. "Until then, say hello to home, sweet home."

Predator looked around the small, utilitarian room. A cot on the wall, a desk, a chair, a closet and a bathroom. Everything was square and gunmetal gray.

"Quaint," he said. "Reminds me of my old place."

"Oh?" said Ava. "What sort of place would that be?"

"Just an old apartment, back in Miami."

"Huh," Ava deflated. She'd been expecting a little something more from someone with such high-tech armor. "Well, alright, that's everything. I'll let you get settled in."

She turned to walk out the door.

"Miss Ayala," said Predator.

"Yes?" Ava turned back to face him. "By the way, you can just call me Ava."

Predator nodded in recognition. "Thank you, Ava."

Ava smiled. "You're welcome, Predator." She walked out the door, and it closed with a hiss.


	5. Chapter 5

"Welcome to the S.H.I.E.L.D. academy, Predator." Fury said as he and Predator walked down a series of hallways through the infamous complex. "This academy is where we separate the men from the boys. To see if they are ready to become full fledged S.H.I.E.L.D. agents."

"What should I expect, Director Fury?" Predator asked his superior. One thing he had learned already was to show Fury proper respect. He was Ava's superior, and now his as well.

"Working as a team will be a big focus. There are tons of agents stationed around the globe who fly solo, but we're at our strongest together. I'm sure you already know of the best team there is?" Fury tested him.

"If you're referring to the Avengers, then yes." Predator replied with slight annoyance. He knew all about the Avengers, and didn't want to be compared to them. One thing he hated was being held up to the example of others.

Fury turned and looked Predator in the eyes. "Keep in mind that Ava's not the only one who will be watching your every move. Be sure to listen to her."

"Won't have to tell me twice." Predator assured him. Fury nodded, a gesture that sent shivers down Predator's spine. Normally Fury didn't put Predator on edge that easily, but he had to admit, the man could be creepy when he wanted to be. They walked in silence for about two minutes before they reached their final destination, a set of double doors.

"Behind these doors are the training room; it's time for us to see exactly what your made of, Predator." Fury stated.

"Just tell me now," Predator said as he began stretching his right arm. "Am I fighting training dummies, or other team members?" Fury didn't reply, but instead walked in the opposite direction. Predator swore that he heard the man laughing under his breath.

"Great. Sent into the hornets nest with no information." Predator grumbled under his breath as the door in front of him opened with a mechanical hiss. He stepped into a circular, brightly lit room. The doors shut behind him with a hiss.

"All right, Predator, we are going to start by testing you with LMD's." an unknown voice announced over hidden speakers.

"Two questions," Predator began as he took in his surroundings. "Who are you, and what is an 'LMD?'"

"I'll only answer your second question, LMD stands for Life Model Decoy," the voice said. A dozen portals opened in the walls, releasing an army of humanoid robots.

"LMD's can take on the form of any hero of villain of your choosing. They're made to test your capabilities," said the voice. "Now let's see how you do, Predator."

The LMD's rushed forwards, circling Predator.

"Killer robots…" said Predator. "Cute…"

* * *

The group of young super heroes collectively known as the 'New Warriors' stood in the observation deck of the training room, watching Predator fight. In front of them, Coulson sat at the dashboard, controlling the LMD's.

"He's good, that's for sure," said Power Man.

Iron Fist frowned. "He uses a targeting system."

"Really?" asked Spider-Man. "How can you tell?"

"He's too precise. Notice how he's already found the LMD's weak spot?"

Spider-Man watched as Predator twisted an LMD's head off its shoulders like a grape. "Huh. Weak spot? I never heard about that."

Iron Fist smiled. "You never asked."

Coulson spoke up. "The new guy is doing well against basic LMD's... Let's try some higher levels."

A new set of LMD's rose from the floor, but they didn't march towards Predator. Instead, they circled him carefully, watching for openings. Predator looked up from the remains of the last few LMD's that he had just finished demolishing.

"Let's see how you do now, Mister 'I'll call the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy veteran bucket head,'" chortled Nova.

Predator proceeded to throw the defeated LMD's at his new opponents.

"Decent strength," observed Power Man.

But the new LMD's ducked under the projectiles and rushed forwards. In response, Predator shot one of his grappling hooks into the ceiling and vaulted out of the circle.

Spider-Man winced, recalling what else the grappling hooks did.

The LMD's gathered together into groups of three.

"Coulson, what are those LMD's doing?" asked White Tiger.

Coulson smiled. "Oh, just some new team-based attacks we added to the system recently."

In each of the groups, two LMD's acted as a springboard for the third, shooting it towards Predator. As they each neared Predator, however, they exploded.

"I see Predator has a projectile weapon." said Iron Fist.

Predator did indeed have a machine gun built into his left gauntlet.

"If that's all you got, then maybe I should have kept running solo." Predator taunted, much to everyone surprise. Was this rookie seriously insulting them?

"Alright wise guy," Coulson said in slight annoyance as he typed in a new command, "Let's see how you do against the real deal." Once the command had been entered all LMD's in the training room ceased all attempts of attacking their target.

* * *

'Huh' Predator thought as he observed their new lifeless state. Moments ago they had been about to launch another attack at him, now they just sat there like someone had pulled the plug.

"Well then," Predator said while looking around at the lifeless machines, "I think that means I won."

"Not yet..." spoke up the voice.

"What do you mean? Seems to me like your robots gave up." Predator said.

"Get down from the ceiling and prepare for the next round."

Predator's response was to release the grappling hook, and fall to the ground, where he landed with a solid crunch, his armor absorbing the impact of the fall.

"What's next?" Predator challenged while gathering his strength for the next round. His response came in the from of a door opening up, and two familiar people walking out.

"You're joking right?" Predator asked as Iron Fist and Nova took up fighting stances.

"Do you hear me laughing?" the unknown voice replied.

"I don't want to fight these guys. They're my new teammates after all." Predator protested. All he earned was a mocking laugh from Nova.

"What's the matter B-list hero—scared of an actual challenge?" Nova taunted him.

Predator snarled in annoyance and take up a fighting stance.

"Looks like he's not afraid. Good luck to you, Predator." Iron Fist said as he eyed his opponent.

"As to you, Iron Fist." Predator replied, a little more hotly than usual. It seemed as though Nova's insult had gotten under Predators' skin.

Nova made the first move by getting airborne and shooting his energy blasts at him. Predator easily sidestepped the incoming attack and fired the grappling hook in his left gauntlet. Nova laughed as he easily flew out of the way.

"Looks like somebody's a little to slow to keep up with a veteran." Nova said.

"Do you ever shut up?" Predator asked as he began calculating his next move.

"When I sleep." Nova replied as he continued to fly circles around Predator.

"I severely doubt... wait a second." Predator said suddenly as he noticed that Iron Fist has just disappeared from his line of sight.

It was his motion sensor that tipped him off. He turned around and noticed Iron Fist running at him, his right fist glowing with power. Predator back flipped just in time, narrowly avoiding what could have been a knockout blow.

"Ingenious strategy," Predator mused as he landed. "Using Bucket Head as a decoy. Good thinking."

"I didn't think of you to give out compliments so easily." Iron Fist said as he and Predator began walking in a circle, waiting to see which of them made the next move.

"I give credit where it's due." Predator simply answered as he suddenly rushed at Iron Fist.

Surprised only for a second, Iron Fist powered up his right fist and charged. Mid sprint, Predator deployed the claws in his right gauntlet.

The two attacks met, and the whole room shook as Iron Fist's attack released its full power. Despite being in mid-air Nova was hurled backwards into the window of the observation room. He quickly recovered to see who had won the battle of strength.

Iron Fist stood lone victor. Predator had been flung back against the wall, and collapsed into a heap.

"Nice move, Fist." Nova congratulated his friend.

"Congratulate me after we have won." Iron Fist said as he eyed Predator. He had felt just how tough that armor was when their two attacks had collided, and he doubted that Predator could be taken down so easily.

"Looks like we already won," Nova began as he came to a hover above the unmoving form of Predator, "I think your punch knocked hi-." Nova never got to finish his statement due to Predator rising with inhuman reflexes and firing both grappling hooks at him.

"Let's see if that bucket can take this," Predator taunted as both hooks snagged on to their target. However Nova was quicker to the draw. Before Predator could trigger the tasers, Nova shot a blast of white-hot energy at him. The energy sloughed off the armor, but the metal began to glow with heat.

"Not fireproof after all, huh?" said Nova.

Predator responded by triggering his tasers. Nova jerked and fell out of the sky, hitting the ground with a thud.

Iron Fist moved forwards to continue the fight, but Predator slipped under his powered up punch and hit him with a double-fisted punch to the chest.

Iron Fist recovered and fired up both of his fists. In response, Predator triggered his left arm blade and charged.

"Trying that again?" Iron Fist mused, "It didn't work well for you last time." But just the same, he held his fists close, ready for whatever tricks Predator might try.

But Iron Fist wasn't expecting Predator to drop to his knees and slide under his punch. Then Predator's right arm lit up blue and crackled with energy and caught Iron Fist under the chin, sending him airborne.

That's got to hurt." Power Man observed with a wince. Everyone else observing nodded in agreement.

However it seemed as though Predator was not done yet.

Predator smiled to himself and said, "Get over here!" He fired the hook from his right gauntlet and snagged Iron Fist from mid air and pulled him back down. As Iron Fist came down, Predator caught his face in his left gauntlet, turned him over, and slammed him into the floor.

Iron Fist was out.

"News flash," Predator said as he sat down next to Iron Fist in order to catch his breath, "I never make the same mistake twice."

Predator looked up. "Is that all?"

"Not yet!" Nova yelled, rising into the air. He had mimicked Predator's trick and played possum. Nova opened fire, catching Predator with a beam of energy and pressing him back. Predator crossed his arms in order to block the wave of white hot energy.

"Your armors' not fireproof as I noted earlier, let's see how it hold up at eight-thousand degrees." Nova snarled as he turned up the heat. The result came about a minute later as Predator's armor began to glow.

"Stop, I give!" Predator called as he tried to back away. Nova ceased his attack and floated over to his now defeated opponent.

"I'll admit Predator, you put up a good fight, newbie." Nova congratulated as he held out a hand to help up Predator. His gesture of condescension was met with an arm blade against his sternum.

"Never let your guard down, _oldbie_ ," said Predator. He got up and walked away. The mysterious voice running things was silent, and merely opened the door for him on his way out.

"What's his problem?" Nova asked while walking over to help out Iron Fist.

Up in the observation room, Ava decided that she would have to talk to Predator about his display.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm back my loyal friends. Tell me in the comments who you think the individual at the end of the chapter is. Hope you all enjoy this chapter**.

"Hey, slow down would you, Predator?" Ava called to Predator, who could be found walking back to the bunks after his completion of the training course. After his display against Nova and Iron Fist, she wanted to talk to him. Something was bothering him after Nova had beaten him, and she wanted to know what it was.

"I'm not in the mood to talk, Ava." Predator growled.

"I don't care if you're in the mood or not," Ava began before pausing to take a breath. "We need to discuss what happened back there."

"What's there to discuss?" Predator asked in a dead tone.

"Can you please stop, Predator? I'm your field handler, and I'm worried about you," Ava said.

Predator stopped walking, and with a sigh, turned to face his field handler.

"Why are you so worried about me?" Predator questioned her. It had been a long time since someone was worried about him.

"What's bothering you?" Ava asked, surprising Predator. That was not what he was expecting.

"Nothing," Predator replied quickly.

"You're lying, Predator." Ava scowled at him.

"Oh, gee. What makes you say that?" Predator said in a sarcastic tone.

"Very funny, wise guy. I think we both know you're lying," Ava said angrily.

"Alright, alright," Predator said, raising his hands in surrender. "I shouldn't have lost that fight back there."

This was weird—she hadn't expected this sort of answer. "What makes you say that?"

"I had the armor advantage, and the weapons advantage. I feel like that alone should have given me the victory." Predator said.

"It was only a training session. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, Predator," Ava answered.

"I treat everything as if it's an actual mission," Predator replied.

Before Ava could respond, the firm voice of Director Fury came on the overhead system. "White Tiger, report to deck two for an emergency mission!" he boomed.

"I've got to go," said Ava. She turned and ran back down the hallway.

"See ya later." Predator mumbled, watching her receding back. He turned back to the crew quarters. "Maybe now I can catch some rest."

* * *

'Good, place is empty,' Predator though as he walked into the sleeping quarters. Although it was very early afternoon, he felt exhausted. Then again, who wouldn't feel just a bit fatigued after fighting S.H.I.E.L.D. killer robots, yet alone Iron Fist and Nova? He spotted his bunk in the corner and made a beeline for it.

Once he reached it, he pressed a hidden button that resided on his neck, and his helmet contracted with a mechanical hiss. Predator let the cool air hit his exposed face, and rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. Before he lay down, he typed a command into his left gauntlet, and the armor opened up and allowed him to step out of it. Predator now stood in his civilian attire: faded t-shirt, blue jeans, and a small electronic watch that allowed him control over the armor even when he wasn't wearing it. All in all, the moment almost wouldn't be out of place in Fallout 4.

Predator made to get on his bunk, but then paused. "Almost forgot," he said out loud with a small laugh. He pressed one of the buttons on his watch. The armor responded to the command and closed back up, and the helmet reformed. The armor now stood there, still looking intimidating despite having no driver present. Predator just sat down at the edge of his bunk and stared into the now empty eyeholes. Somehow, they seemed to stare right back at him, making him shudder. It was almost like the armor was whispering, 'You and I are one; we cannot live without each other.'

Predator shook his head to chase that particular thought from his mind. "No we're not," he spat out. Suddenly he realized that he had forgotten something. Pressing another button on his watch, a compartment on the left arm of his armor opened up.

Predator stood up and retrieved the contents that he desired: two silver dog tags, each bearing names engraved into them. The first one read, "Andrew Steele: Predator: Unit 312."

The second one read, "Cynthia Burns: Aegis: Unit 259." Grasping both in his right hand, Predator climbed into bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

Predator awoke with a start, cold sweat matting down his light brown hair, and dripping down his face. His sleep had once again been plagued by nightmares, and visions he just could not explain, but for the life of him, he couldn't begin to remember a single one of his strange, prophetic dreams. He closed his right hand in an attempt to hold closely some of the happier memories he possessed. His right hand closed on thin air. "What the-?" he sputtered as he frantically searched his bunk for what he had lost

"Are you looking for these?" An unknown female voice asked.

Predator swallowed thickly in surprise, head snapping round to find the bent form of a girl draped backwards over one of the bunks. Her long legs were propped against the wall, resting the ankles across the metal-wrought side of her bed. Her shoulders dropped off the bed, but her head was propped upwards, and Predator could see round cheeks, hazel eyes with dark arrows pointing above and below the dark eyes. Her short hair, scraped back into a low ponytail, hung off the bed as her eyes stared upwards.

Thin, elegant fingers held something dangling in the air above her, the sleek metal brushing the tip of her twitching nose. His jaw slackened as the glint of sunlight bounced off it and her head dropped down to look at him, the box fringe she sported swaying slightly. "Who's Andrew Steele, a friend of yours or something? And Cynthia. Who's that?"

"Give those back." Predator spat. In the space of two seconds, he activated his armor and stepped inside it. When he next spoke, the Predator suit added a furious mechanical snarl. "Those are mine, kid," he said, trying to scare the girl.

The girl scoffed and pushed off her heels, flipping down off the top bunk. A flash of brown… fuzziness assaulted Predator's vision, making him step back in shock. Starting from behind the girl's hips, a thick and long bushy tail swiped against the ground. Her eyes never strayed from the twirling dog tags, and she placed a hand on her hip. She only spared him a glance before tapping a sharpened fingernail against the necklaces. "Yeah, but seriously. Whose are they?"

"They're no concern of yours, and you should return them. Right now," Predator bit down on the anger that was scratching his throat to ribbons and stepped closer, only to have the girl retreat with a bright smile on her face. She tucked the dog tags away at the base of her back. Frustration flared in Predator's chest, and he spat out, "Who the hell are you, anyways?"

The girls' eyes brightened and she bounced in place, chittering and giggling. "I'm the fan-tabulous Squirrel Girl at your service, of course! You can call me SG if that works for you. It works for me!" She threw her arms out wide in a flourish, and Predator flinched as the dog tags jangled painfully against one another. The girl bowed at the waist and crossed one leg in front, her smile lighting up her cheeks. "What's yours?" She asked.

Predator made no movements towards her or to answer her question. Instead, he held out his hand, silently asking for the dog tags. Squirrel Girl raised her eyebrows, taunting him like an annoying little sister. Predator swallowed his anger. "Predator. Now give me those," he demanded bluntly.

Squirrel Girl chittered in the back of her throat and reluctantly lowered the dog tags into his waiting hand. As soon as Predator felt the metal in his hand, he snapped it shut and snatched the dog tags out of her grasp. He tucked them away and turned to leave the room, but the hyperactive ball of fur clambered skillfully across the bunks to land in front of him, arms out-spread. "Hey, whoa, hey bud. Where you going?" The annoyingly chipper Squirrel Girl asked. "Don't skip out on me now, I just want to know whose they are, that's all."

Predator bit his tongue to keep from screaming and shouldered Squirrel Girl aside, but before he could take another step, long fingers snatched his elbow and pulled him back. SG's brows were turned down in confusion, only to shoot behind her hairline when Predator lost his cool. "Gosh, would you stop, girl? You have no right to ask me about Aegis, so leave it alone!"

Predator's chest heaved as he stared down at her, expecting the girl to either burst into tears or mumble an apology, but she did neither. Her face hardened with unexpected anger, and her eyes speared him with a glare so hot it seemed to cut right through his armor. Squirrel Girl flexed her fingers, showing off her powerful and sharpened fingernails. Despite her size and lack of either weaponry or any obvious powers, Predator felt a chill run down his spine. "Listen here, metal mouth, I know I don't have the right to ask, but I thought - since you're joining the academy and all - that you'd want to talk. Here, we're a family. We know stuff about each other that no one else knows. I thought you'd know that and you'd open up a bit," Squirrel Girl lectured.

Beneath his mask, Predator scowled. "I don't need a family. I'm much better on my own, thank you."

Squirrel girl made a sound at the back of her throat, not unlike a squirrel's soft cry. "Well, too bad. You got one now. I was just trying to be nice, and I thought you'd be more open since you did go to bed without your armor on, and out in an open-"

"Of course I went to- Wait. You watched me while I slept!?" Predator sputtered.

"No, I just wanted to look at the tags. By the way, nice bed head, metal mouth, and it's not nice to shout in a bedroom." Squirrel Girl scolded, lifting a hand to point a sharped fingertip towards Predator's black visor. Behind the visor, she could have sworn she saw an eyebrow lift, which caused her to smile. "Point is, I was just trying to be a friend, ya big, angry tin can. I'm sorry I took your tags without permission."

That was when it clicked. Somewhere in the hollow corners of Predator's mind, he realized that even though this bouncy girl saw an intimidating and angry man - both human and predator -, she still tried to befriend him, even though she was possibly scared of him. The fight dripped out of him. He relaxed and said, "It's fine, SG."

Squirrel Girl's eyes went round. "You called me SG!" She said happily.

"Don't get used to it, because next time you take my tags, I won't be so -" Predator's threatening words were cut off by an angry blare from Squirrel Girl's wrist communicator. The screen on it lit up with a mission update.

Squirrel Girl read the message and began bouncing with excitement. "A mission, a mission! We've got a mission!" she sang happily. She looked back up at Predator, animosity gone. She snatched his wrist, seeming to be completely unafraid of the heavy iron gauntlet and its myriad weapons. "C'mon, Predator. We've got a job to do!"

"Don't drag me," Predator said, completely deadpan.

Squirrel Girl rolled her eyes, but complied, and skipped down the hall, chatting excitedly. Predator followed after her, nodding occasionally to her jabber, until one of her questions caught him by surprise. "Andrew, who's Aegis?"

He paused mid-step; it wasn't surprising that she'd figured out what his name was, but hearing that name again so soon beat on his chest. It hurt, sharp and brittle, just like every time he remembered her. The visor hid the sight of tears in his blue eyes like it was supposed to, and he continued on, shoulders set and stone-like. His voice cracked, betraying him when he answered. "She was no one you ever need to ask about again."

* * *

The mission had been a call to the New York Times Square. It was currently under attack from the Frightful Four—Wizard, Thundra, Trapster and Klaw. According to the mission report, they were demanding Spider-Man's presence, threatening to destroy the city block by block if he didn't respond. Unfortunately, there had been two factors that the team of villains forgot to take into account:

One: The people of New York City were very familiar with supervillain attacks. They had cleared the area of Times Square and several surrounding city blocks with an almost resigned, experience-born efficiency.

Two: Spider-Man couldn't respond to their call even if he wanted to. The web-slinger was currently on another mission halfway around the world.

And so, Predator found himself jumping out of a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet as it hovered ten feet above the street, landing next to a collection of his fellow superheroes. As the group hit the ground, the purple-armored genius who called himself the Wizard scowled in annoyance. "We send out a call for Spider-Man to settle an old score… and all we get is this?"

Predator looked at his teammates. The group had been cobbled together from what heroes were on call, and consisted of himself, Squirrel Girl (he doubted he would or could ever be able to take that name seriously), Power Man, and a kid in a jacked-up Iron Man suit called Iron Spider.

"Well, I guess this is what you get when you go around smashing up streets in a super powered temper tantrum," Predator said, releasing his claws. "Ready for us to give you a nice, long nap, little boy?"

The Wizard snarled in response, and shot a pair of his gravity disks into the pavement. At his signal, the discs activated, tearing great chunks of concrete out of the ground and rising into the air. "I will have none of those ridiculous comments!" he said, and punched one of the concrete blocks hovering in the air. The concrete shot down the street towards Predator, propelled by the strength of Wizard's powered armor.

The rest of the team scattered, but Predator stood his ground. He simply grabbed the hunk of concrete out of the air, letting it push him back until its momentum was spent. When he released the rock, the gravity disc attached to it pulsed, and it simply floated in the air.

"Cool," said Predator. "Zero gravity." He hit the concrete mass with a roundhouse kick, sending it straight back at the Wizard, but the Wizard cut the power to the gravity disc, causing the concrete to drop out of the air. He watched it roll ineffectually to a stop at his feet, and looked back up with a smirk, only to see Predator standing a few feet away from him. "You really shouldn't get so caught up in what you're doing," said Predator as he swung his fist at the Wizard.

The Wizard ducked under Predator's punch and drifted several feet back, powering up his laser gauntlets. Predator sighed in annoyance—couldn't these people stand to put a few less lasers in their armor?—and began dodging and weaving as bolts of energy shot towards him.

Trapster, in the meantime, pointed his glue gun at Iron Spider. If he could take out the red-armored upstart, then the fight would be that much easier. Currently, Iron Spider was gunning for Klaw, perhaps hoping that his technological knowhow would help him against the villain's android body.

Wait… Wait… There! Trapster grinned as Iron Spider rose up on his mechanical spider legs to get above Klaw, unwittingly opening himself up to an attack from behind, an opportunity which Trapster intended to take, but just as Trapster's finger tightened on the trigger, a hand slid under the barrel of his glue gun and slapped it up. The blast of glue shot harmlessly into the air, and landed on one of the advertisement screens surrounding the Town Square. Spiderman would've been proud if he'd seen it. The billboard had a certain enemy of his on it. Trapster snarled, "Who-" Before he could say anything, a fist tagged him upside the head, knocking him back.

"No cheap shots, please!" said a chirpy, female voice as Trapster stumbled and tried to regain his balance. "I'll take you on, glue man!"

Trapster looked up at the hero who had ruined his shot—she looked ridiculous. A brown jumpsuit, sharpened fingernails, a squirrel tail? "Just who are you supposed to be?" Trapster growled, hiding his disbelief.

The girl pouted. "Why, the fan-tabulous Squirrel Girl, of course!" Trapster sighed. This was going to be a long day.

Power Man and Thundra had paired off from the start, matching strength against strength. Now, they were trading punches in a flurry of indestructible fists, not bothering with defense at all. Why would they? With their superhuman durability, both Power Man and Thundra could take a semi-truck to the face and walk away. They had no need to guard themselves at all.

Suddenly, in the space of half a second, Power Man caught one of Thundra's punches and shoved her back. While Thundra was off balance, Power Man stepped forwards and caught her in the gut with a double-fisted uppercut. Thundra was blasted fifteen feet into the air, landing on top of an abandoned car. Power Man immediately crouched low to the ground, watching Thundra carefully. When around large, inanimate objects, she tended to—

Yup, there it was. Thundra, tired of trading punches with Power Man, had decided to trade projectiles instead. With a roar, she lifted the car that had served as her landing pad into the air, and tossed the two-ton machine at him. Power Man ducked under the flying car and ran towards Thundra, trying to bring the fight back to close quarters, but Thundra had been expecting this. With a knowing smirk, she waited until Power Man was too close to dodge, and then spun, lashing out with the chain wrapped around her forearm.

The chain smacked against the side of Power Man's head, knocking him backwards. He hit the ground in an uncontrolled tumble, sliding to a stop ten feet from Thundra. Thundra grinned and walked towards him.

* * *

"C'mon, Klaw. Hold still so I can immobilize your android body with a computer virus!" Amadeus Cho, a.k.a. the Iron Spider, said as he rushed forwards, keeping low to the ground, and lashed out with the golden spider-legs attached to his back.

The tip of each claw sparked with electricity, ready to deliver their viral payload should they connect with Klaw's body. Klaw leaped back, covering his retreat with a machine-gun burst of sonic bolts. Iron Spider used his mechanical legs to jump to the side, easily avoiding the sonic bursts.

Suddenly, he heard Predator cry out in pain, and turned to see him crouched on the ground, nursing an injured leg. Wizard hovered over him, readying a laser to finish him off. Iron Spider didn't hesitate. He fired a repulser blast at Wizard, knocking him off balance, but the distraction had given Klaw time to get a mark on him. The super villain gleefully opened fire with his sonic blaster.

Iron Spider ducked under the first blast, but the second caught him in the arm, sending him spinning to the ground. Klaw moved forwards, looking to get a better shot at his collapsed foe, but Iron Spider was playing possum. As soon as Klaw was within range, he unleashed twin blasts from his repulsers, knocking Klaw's feet out from under him, and launched himself towards Klaw's prone form, spider legs ready to strike. His aim was true as his mechanical legs struck his opponent in his chest, knocking him backwards.

Iron Spider then smiled underneath his armor once he saw that his viral payload he been delivered. Klaw now lay there twitching and shaking uncontrollably, Cho's virus having done its job. He then heard another cry, but this one belonged to Wizard. He turned his head just in time to see the villain go flying through the air and crash through a building window. Looking back to wear he had been standing he saw Predator sitting on the ground, holding his injured leg. "You alright, rookie?" Cho asked as he quickly made his way over to where Predator was sitting.

"First, don't call me rookie," Predator ordered with a snarl. "Secondly, I could have handled Wizard, as you just saw firsthand." he said while pointing at the giant hole in the wall where Wizard now resided.

Cho was surprised by the hostility he was receiving from Predator. He had just helped Predator, and instead of a thank you, he was getting chewed out. Before he could reply, they heard a very familiar female shriek. They both turned around and found that Squirrel Girl currently had her left arm glued to a building and Trapster seemed to be going in for the kill!

"Help SG. I'll take care of this glue gunning menace," Cho ordered as he rose up on his mechanical legs and shot a pair of repulser blasts at the villain, knocking him backwards. While Cho was busy distracting Trapster, Predator limped over to SG's trapped form as quickly as his injury would allow.

"What happened to your leg? I heard that your armor was so tough?" Squirrel Girl asked him as he stood there, evaluating the best way to free her from the glue restraints.

"He hit a joint in my leg armor." Predator replied with a sharp inhale of breath. "Don't move a muscle." Predator said while triggering the claws on his right gauntlet. SG did as he instructed. She even held her breath as he quickly struck the glue with his claws, freeing her arm from its sticky prison.

"Thanks for the assist," Squirrel Girl said with a smile.

"Don't mention it," was Predator's simple reply.

Suddenly, SG screamed at Predator, "Move!" She shrieked as she pushed Predator to the right, where he proceeded to lose his balance and fall on his face.

He heard a loud crash, followed by two pain filled groans. Turning to face the groans he saw now what SG had saved him from. Power Man, it seems, had been thrown at them both, and had crashed full speed into SG. Now they both laid there in a tumbled heap. He heard a taunting female laugh and turned to face the mocking laughter. Thundra walked almost casually towards the three injured heroes and continued her mocking laughter. "Why do you still stand, little hero?" She asked as she sized up the visibly injured hero.

"I won't let you hurt my teammates," Predator replied in a defiant tone as he triggered a pair of claws from his wrist gauntlets.

"Don't be a fool," Thundra began as she continued to walk towards him. "Lay down, and you won't be hurt... much," she said with an evil laugh.

That laugh was all it took to drive Predator over the edge. With the speed of a cheetah, he rushed at Thundra and threw a right hook at her. It was a surprise to Predator when she merely caught his wrist, thereby stopping the attack. She suddenly delivered a punishing power drive punch to his chest, sending him sailing back to where Squirrel Girl and Power Man were just beginning to stir.

"Damage report," Predator ordered the computer with a slight groan. His HUD showed a small holographic model of his armor. The chest portion of the armor was highlighted in bright red, signaling significant damage. He barely had enough time to take that in before Thundra was standing over his still form.

"Stay down, and I won't rip you apart," she ordered. Predator eyed his opponent trying to figure out his next move. Suddenly Thundra was hit in the side of the head from a blue repulser blast. Both Predator and Thundra turned towards the direction the blast emanated from, and they saw Iron Spider there, preparing his next move.

With a roar, Thundra started a cold sprint towards the red-armored upstart. "Tactical options available," the computer informed Predator as it listed several options for the scenario at hand. Looking at them all, Predator made a decision. Once the computer had confirmed, his order he took aim at the distracted form of Thundra.

It was a surprise to both Iron Spider and Thundra when a dark blue bolt of energy struck her in the back of the head, resulting in her falling to the ground. Iron Spider looked over to where the blast had emanated from. What he saw both surprised and confused him. Predator had a small blaster attached to his right shoulder that was currently spewing blue smoke. "Where did you get that?" He asked Predator as he walked over to his sitting form.

"I've always had the plasma cannon," Predator answered.

"Why didn't you think to use it sooner?" Cho asked in a semi-annoyed fashion.

"Two answers. Number one: It's damaged, so I have to use it sparingly until it's repaired. Number two: Thundra's punch temporarily disabled my HUD due to damage. I had to wait for it to reboot," Predator stated as he shakily got to his feet. "Where's Trapster?" Predator asked Iron Spider.

"Taken care of," Spider replied. Hearing groans, he turned his attention to SG and Power Man, who both were starting to rise from their injured states. Both Iron Spider and Predator nodded a silent agreement as they both hurried over to attend to their injured friends.

* * *

On a building overlooking the fight, a hooded being watched as Predator and Iron Spider tended to their injured comrades. Reaching to his ear, he tapped the button that turned on his ear piece, and spoke softly, despite the fact that the heroes he was watching wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't. "Sir we found him." A pause… "He's in New York City," and after another even longer pause, "Negative. Can't approach him at this moment. We'll have to wait…"

 **I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I now have a Beta-Reader who will eliminate those pesky spelling and grammar errors. This is my Beta-Reader...**

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread.**

 **I recommend checking him out anytime you want a good story**


	7. Chapter 7

Alright guys I'm back. I want to give a shout-out to my friend morgn, who wrote a large section of this chapter while I was recovering from surgery. I recommend checking out her story "Volatile" if you want to read a really good story. Also the heroes refer to each other by their real names in private.

"Have any of you seen Predator?" asked Squirrel Girl. She stood in front of what should have been Predator's cot on the Helicarrier med bay, confronting a surprised orderly.

"That would be the… New armored fellow, right?" Asked the orderly.

"Yes," said Squirrel Girl. "Now, where is that grumpy tin can? Isn't he supposed to be resting?"

"Ah, 'Predator' checked himself out a few minutes ago," said the orderly. "I believe he was headed towards the gym."

"What, really? In his state?" blustered Squirrel Girl. "Why I oughta...Tape his legs together an' sandwich him between two beds... And then pelt him with walnuts!" Squirrel Girl ranted as she marched through the halls of the Helicarrier. There! The gym door!

Squirrel Girl stomped through the door and cast about, searching for Predator. He was across the room, lifting weights. His armor was standing next to him, letting him lift the weights himself.

"Andrew!" she yelled.

"What- urk!" distracted by her call, Andrews's arm slipped, and he ended up trapped under his weights, where he groaned in disgust. "Little help?" His empty suit of armor stepped in and easily lifted the bar off him with one hand.

"What are you doing out of the infirmary?" raged Squirrel Girl, moving towards him.

Andrew sat up, rubbing his chest. "I'm fine. I came here to exercise."

"But you got shot in the leg!" insisted Squirrel Girl.

With a completely straight face, Andrew said, "I heal fast."

Squirrel Girl squinted at him. "I'm pretty sure you don't have a healing factor, mister," she said, "but at least you're not making bad Skyrim jokes about it."

"I don't," Andrew said as he stretched his formerly injured leg, rubbing the back of his knee. "Service-issue medical nanobots. They can patch up just about anything in a few hours."

"Where'd you get medical nanobots?" asked Squirrel Girl.

"Nowhere important," Andrew replied. "Say, would you mind helping me with something?"

"You're trying to change the subject," accused Squirrel Girl.

Andrew sighed. "Please just leave it," he said.

(Huh,) thought Squirrel Girl. (Does this have something to do with his dog tags?) Out loud, she said, "Alright, then. What do you need help with?"

Andrew looked down, almost shamefacedly. "I need help moving my stuff here from my old apartment."

"Really?" asked Squirrel Girl, surprised. "Why ask me?"

"Well..." said Andrew, if possible, now even more shamefaced, "I don't really know anybody else here."

"What about White Tiger?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure if I trust her," said Andrew, looking down. "You've done all you could to help me. White Tiger... To be honest, she said hello by punching me in the face."

"Well, okay then," said Squirrel Girl. "I'll help!"

Predator looked up. "What, really? Argh!"

Squirrel Girl grabbed him by the wrist and hustled him towards the gym door. "C'mon! Let's go! Where do you live, by the way? We need to program it into the Quinjet..."

Andrew found himself wondering if asking Squirrel Girl for help was more trouble than it was worth.

* * *

"AndImeanreallyhowcanyoustandlivinghereitslikeapigstye–" Squirrel Girl whipped around

Predator's apartment at blinding speed, getting a good look at the place. And critiquing how he lived while she was at it.

"It's efficient," said Predator, standing with his arms crossed, just a few feet from the door.

Squirrel Girl poked her head around a doorway to peer at him quizzically. "Efficient? How do you call keeping your dirty clothes on your bed efficient?"

Drat. She had called his bluff. "Fine," admitted Predator. "I'm not here much, so I don't do much cleaning."

Squirrel Girl narrowed her eyes at him and gave a hammed-up, "HMMMMMMMM..." Then she disappeared back around the door in a blur of speed to continue her scouting.

Once out of Squirrel Girl's gaze, Predator relaxed. Good thing she hadn't asked about the–

"Oh my goodness! When did you last clean out your refrigerator?!"

–fridge.

"Well it was probably-." he began before she cut him off.

"Let me guess, the last time you where here." She said.

"Pretty much." Andrew replied with a defeated tone,

"When was that by chance?" she asked.

"I'd say about two months ago." he answered carefully. Truth be told he couldn't remember the last time he had set foot in his apartment. SG finally came out of the kitchen with an annoyed look on her usually cheerful face.

"It's going to take us hours to get this done with just the two of us." She said while crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Who said there was just two of us?" Andrew said with a smirk as he pressed a button on his wrist. The armor responded to his command by opening up, allowing him to step out of it. Once had vacated himself from the armor, he pressed a button on his watch and the armor closed back up. "Get to work." he said out loud, and SG started to open her mouth to protest the order he had just given, but held her tongue upon realizing that the order was directed at the now empty Predator Armor.

The armor responded by walking behind a wall and disappearing into the kitchen out of sight.

"Well that's efficient." SG approved with a small laugh.

"Let's take care of the bedroom." Andrew said with a small groan.

* * *

About three hours later, the two could be found packing up the last box in Predator's now clean bedroom. "Well, that's the last box," Predator said with a yawn.

"Thank God," SG said while also letting out a yawn, "I've never seen a boy with more boxes in his room. Also why won't you let me see what's in that particular package?" she asked while pointing to an oddly shaped package.

Predator sighed in annoyance. She had been bugging him all afternoon about that package since she had dug it out of the back of his closet. "I already told you SG, it's private." he answered her.

"Remember how I said that at the academy we know things about each other that nobody else knows about?" She asked him while turning to face him.

"I do. Why do you bring that up?" He asked her. He was most curious as to why she had brought that particular conversation up.

"Because it also applies to your personal life Andrew. You got to trust us. Now look I respect your privacy, but I'm just as curious about you as the others are." she lectured him, the whole while looking him in the eyes.

"Alright." He answered in a defeated tone as he made his way over to the package in question. When he reached it he removed the covering and removed a nice looking guitar.

"That's what you were being so secretive about?" she asked him with a small laugh. Andrew, unknown to her, had tuned her out as he tuned the fine instrument. He had many memories from this wooden instrument.

"Andrew did you hear me?" she asked him.

"I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention, SG." He said with an apologetic glance in her direction.

"I asked if that was really what you were being so secretive about?"

"I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it, but yea." he replied with a shy smile.

"Why would that make you embarrassed? I think it's cool that you play an instrument. Would you mind playing some for me?" She eagerly asked him.

"Not today SG, but there is something I need to know, and I want an honest answer from you," he stated in a serious tone.

"Shoot," she simply answered while continuing to look at the guitar.

"I think I've earned the right to know your real name. You know mine is Andrew, so what's yours?" he asked her.

SG hesitated for a minute. Did she really want to do this? Then again he had trusted her and opened up a little bit. (What the heck,) she thought. "Doreen. My name is Doreen Green." she answered him with a friendly smile.

"Nice to meet you, Doreen." Andrew replied with a friendly smile. "Hey, as a way of thanking you, how would you like to go out and hang out tonight? I know a nice little place down the road where I always used to hang out with friends. It's a nice place," he offered her with a friendly smile.

"Sure!" she replied eagerly as she jumped up and headed out of the bedroom.

"Don't you think you should change?" he called at her. She turned to face him and saw he was pointing at her jump suit. "I'm sure nobody would notice if Squirrel Girl just walked into where we are going." he said in a sarcastic tone, which earned a giggle from her.

"I don't suppose you happen to have girls' clothes in one of those boxes," she joked right back at him.

"Afraid I don't Doreen, but I know a few places down the street where you could start," he answered.

"I'll be back in 15 minutes," she said while turning to walk out the front door.

"Don't you think I should go with you?" he asked.

"Want it to be a surprise," was her simple answer as she quickly exited the building. Once she had left he ordered his armor into look-down mode so it could recharge.

* * *

He stretched lazily, hands reaching to touch the midnight-peppered sky as they walk, Andrew now dressed in a dark t-shirt and jeans, looks over towards SG (who he'd learned was called Doreen), who was dressed in a black tank top, sprayed with a picture of her signature tail that she'd obviously bought from a superhero-appreciative store, dark jeans which she had her tail tucked into, and a pair of white heels, paired with her white jacket that hung over her lithe frame. Andrew noticed, for the first time since he'd met her, that Doreen was actually pretty - with her crazy hero makeup swiped from her ivory skin and replaced with smoky black eyes and red lipstick, with her short, chopped hair down around her shoulders, but the illusion was shattered as she crazily jumped around, throwing her arms in wide, open gestures as she talked. His hands fell back behind his head, crossing at the neck as he listened to her ramble. "This is gonna be so cold! I mean, I've never been to a night-club before, I've seen it on TV, and my friends have talked about it being pretty awesome, but this is freaking amazing! I'm totally gonna request my favorite song to the DJ and - "

His deep chuckle caught her off. "SG, are you even legal?"

She wrinkles her nose like ripped paper. "I'm eighteen, not eight, but this is gonna be so fun, I wonder if they sell cola here, do you think they sell cola?"

Her round, doe-like eyes stare up at him, her sharpened nails gripping his shirt, and he almost laughed at the child-like expression that donned her round cheeks. He pulled a hand from its perch across the wasteland that sits across his shoulders, and patted hers, as if reassuring her. "Like you need to be more hyper."

His answer is a raspberry to the face as they rounded a corner, and he can practically feel the bubble of laughter in his abdomen. She bounced on her toes as the line of people seem to already thrum with the life from the club and although she pulled back slightly, shying away from the curious eyes, Andrew huffed and wrapped a tight hand around hers, dragging her past the line and towards the front.

Her eyes widen as she stares at the mountain of muscle that guarded the door, lip jutted as he tiredly searched through a list and pulls his gaze upwards. The stoic expression that had sat on the bearded man's face seems to split with a blinding grin and the list is forgotten, shoved into the hand of some teenage girl, claiming she's a member. "Andrew! Man, you haven't been here in forever!"

A rare smile tugged at his mouth, and Andrew played the part of coaxing the girl under his arms, showing she's with him, "Jake, I got a job, you know that. Can't be round here all the time man."

"Well, looks like you need a break. We've missed you here, kid," he said, and stepped aside, back to the line of people, and he threw open the door, which yawned with music and thrumming life in its mouth and Doreen's eyes widen at the shock. Andrew tugs her forwards with him, high-fiving the bouncer, who sends the girl a soft wink, "and welcome to you too, darling. Have fun."

"We will! T-Thank you!" Doreen waves over her shoulder as she detaches from Andrew, and the bouncer's gaze softened before the door is closed again, and she was momentarily plunged into darkness before thick and blinding lights penetrated her gaze. Her fingers, sharp and pointed, curled into Andrew's arm in excitement as she stared around the club, littered with ascending floors and swirling lights and she misses the soft, inexplicably rare look of contentment in Andrew's gaze at the sight of her eagerness. "A-Andy, this is so cold!"

"Don't you mean cool?"

"Yeah, that. Oh, thank you so much. W-What do we do first?" the innocence of a child leaks into her gaze and Andrew has to blink away the urge to brush the stray hairs from her eyes and he winds a protective arm around her shoulders, casting looks to the lingering stares that sent them whirling away.

He huffed and pulled her through the thrum of people. "Well, first, I'm in need of a drink, so you're in need of a drink," he murmured lowly to her as they weaved and dove through the dancing bodies, Andrew having to physically dip back into the pit of dancing when she got caught between heavily tattooed arms. A relieved laugh broke through her lips as she clung to him, and Andrew's smile never wavered as they made their way to the bar.

The bartender gave them a soft smile, wavering between adult and friend to the teenagers as they approached, and Doreen leaned forwards, a charming smile on her soft features, ready to charm the bartender into lowering the price of their drinks, but a shrill, ringing noise shattered the world around them from Andrew's pocket and he dug into the pocket to pull out the offending object - his phone. A sigh tugged at his mouth and he turned to the bartender. "Give her whatever drink she wants, watch her and put it on Steele."

The bartender nodded, recognition flashing in his eyes and as Andrew walked away to deal with the phone call, he turned to Doreen expectantly. With an unwavering smile of curiosity, she blindly picked out a drink, which was placed in front of her in minutes, which she filled whilst talking to the bartender.

"Thanks! So anyways, as I was saying, he's not the friendliest when you first meet, god knows, but - urgh!"

Warning flashed across the bartender's face as she scrunched up her features crudely. "What's wrong?"

"Sal, what kinda soda is this? It's so weird, and my nose felt like I snorted fizz!" Amusement filtered through the bartender's eyes and he strode forwards, ready to take the drink from Doreen's outstretched arms. A hand beat him to it, long fingers effortlessly sliding over the rim of the drink and pulling it from her hands.

Bewilderment played a tune on her cheeks and she turned to find a blond boy smiling down at her, brown eyes watching her like a predator in the wild as he plucked the drink from her fingers and sat it back on the tabletop, smoothly situating himself against the counter. He turns to the bartender, who narrows his eyes at him and flashes a shark-like grin as he pushes the drink towards him. "Give her a four, she'll love it."

The bartender tossed an unsure look to Doreen, who nodded her head and turned unsuspectingly to the blond, who had suddenly gained two new friends, another blond with dark blue eyes and brunette with the same color and an upturned nose. They gathered around her, and the blond sank himself into the seat, trailing a hand down her shoulder to her elbow. "Sorry, I didn't have time to introduce myself. My name's Leo. What's yours, babe, because I'm sure if you'd told me, I would've remembered."

She paused at the hungry stares of the boys, and the drink was dropped in front of her, and before she could cast a worried glance to the bartender, he was called away to another area. She sighed around her teeth and plasters a smile on her cheeks towards the boys, silently tucking her arm away. "D-Doreen."

"Well, that's new. You look more like an Amelia to me," the guy commented, and his friend brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek before latching onto another girl around the waist, which she giggles at. Leo looks mildly annoyed and presses further. "But anyways, sweetheart, you're here for some fun, right? I can show you that."

She flinches back from the soft touch across her cheek and stood, stumbling back into the hold of his friend, and he wraps his arms around her waist and she wondered if S.H.I.E.L.D. had embedded a knife in her heel or not. "I-I'm not here for that kinda fun, really. Just for a night out with a friend."

"Well, I don't see any friends, so why don't you stop bluffing to me and come with me," he murmured in her ear, snatching her from his friend and forcefully pulling her to his body, breath fanning over her ear. "Are you a virgin, love? Is that why you're so jumpy?"

"Excuse me," a voice brittle and anger laced across his teeth when the words hit the air spoke, and Doreen was pulled back from the prison-arms she'd been caught in. She breathed a sigh of relief when abnormally soft blue eyes looked her over, analyzing every corner of her person, before they were snapped away to stare needles the size of lightsabers at the blonde, who rose a shaved eyebrow.

Andrew stepped between Doreen and the shark. "Now, I'm gonna give you one chance to walk away and leave her alone, or I'll break your perfect nose, and I promise you, I will not regret it one bit."

The blond snorted, ugly and deep, and his friends gathered around him, preparing to terrify him into cowardice, but Andrew straightened himself, and even if his armor was tucked away somewhere else, his skin seemed to harden in anger. "Seriously, kid? Aren't you a little young to be in a club like this?"

"That isn't your concern; leave her alone or I swear - "

"Who the heck are you, her boyfriend?"

Andrew set a flame-wreathed glance at his shorter brunette friend, who shrinks slightly under the fire as he spits out, "Yes, I am." Doreen sent him a slightly wide-eyed glance, but the smirk that curled at the corner of her mouth told her to shush and play along. "So get away from her, or I'll tear out whatever guts you have and feed them to you."

The blond looked shaken by the pretend-confirmation, but he stood his ground and squared up to the boy, crossing his arms and giving his hungry smile. "Sure you will, I'd like to see you try, kiddo."

"If you insist," Andrew remarked and in one quick move, his head snapped forwards and head-butted the leader in the forehead, sending him stumbling into his friends and in a flurry of movements before he spun and smiled almost excitedly at Doreen. He turned her, pressing them into the crowd and threading them through, hands on her shoulders. The fire escape door came into view, and as they reach the door, Andrew turned to find the group following them, throwing dancers and half-drunk young adults out of the way as they followed them.

"Why're we running? We can take these guys!" Doreen asked.

Andrew's grin widens as he looks down at her, shouting over the music, "We're not running - we're baiting them!" He pushed her through the fire exit, into the bite of the air and laughs as he waited for the door to fly open and yawn out the revenge-filled group.

Beside him, however, Doreen shrieked and pulls at her jacket. "Andrew!"

"What?! Are you alright?!"

"They got that stupid red drink all over my jacket!"

"So?"

"It's white!"

Andrew held out a hand for the jacket, and she place it in his hands, leaving her in her black tank-top, and he draped it over a clean-looking hook on the wall, and only peered upwards when the door was thrown open and the agitated blond spilled out, spearing a glance towards the two as Andrew raked a hand through his hair. Doreen lowered herself into a crouch slightly, and pulled off her heels, falling down a few inches. Leo smirked and stood straighter from where he'd crouched into the night, hands curled into fists and soon regained the same confident stature, tugging at his jacket tighter around his frame.

"Thought you ran off with your girl, dude. Looks like you've got a few balls."

The brunette snorts, shadowing Doreen and shrugging. "It's a few more than you and your buddies have combined, so I'm taking the compliment," Andrew replied calmly, although Doreen could hear a touch of venom in his voice.

A growl permeated the air, and when his group circled around him, challenge seemed to flare in Andrew's eyes, and that was all it took for Leo to fly forwards and land a punch squarely in his jaw. Knocking Andrew back a few steps, he took the moment to throw a fist towards his stomach when his head snapped back, but just before it made contact, a hand grasped his. Confusion showed on his face and Leo peered up, only to find Andrew's fist coming for his face.

Behind him, Doreen felt arms ensnare her waist and she cried out, turning back to the leering face of the brunette as he held her off the ground, pinning her arms to her sides and threatening to throw her over her shoulder. The girl wasn't taking the offer, and instead, as his other friend came to grasp her legs, she made her own offer. She kicked her shoeless toes into his chest, knocking the other into Leo as he ducked under Andrew's fist, and throwing herself over the other and out of his arms.

Disappearing over his shoulder, the blond turned to grab at her again, only gaining a kick to the face as she did a no-handed round-house kick. He flew back, knocked out, past the shorter brunette that threatened to knock her out. Doreen cracked a wide smile, and threw a fist into his chest before kicking a knee up into his jaw, cracking it and elbow his face into the wall, making him slump against it. "Sweetheart, you don't mess with a girl when you've ruined her night. She'll kill you, seriously."

Suddenly, her feet were knocked out from beneath her, and she fell back, screaming when Leo's face peered down at her, pinning her shoulders down with one arm and the other grasping her thigh and fear shot through her chest like a hot pin as his hand inched further up the fabric of her jeans. He chuckled lowly and blood dripped from his nose into his mouth, but he hardly seemed to mind as he poked his tongue out to lick at the dripping liquid.

"If you don't shut up right now, this isn't gonna be so bad. Your boyfriend can't save you, so don't even try calling for him. You're mine now, Doreen, so get ready for -"

Suddenly, Leo was flying back away from her as a foot knocked into his chin, spraying blood, and his head cracked against the concrete, consciousness flying from his eyes and he lay in a heap a few feet from Doreen's heavy form. It took a few moments, but noise filtered into her mind again as Andrew's voice pulled her back into reality, smoothing away her hair and uncharacteristic worry pulling from his eyes.

"Doreen, you alright? I should go knock him one again in the crotch for when he wakes up."

She coughed around her words as he helped her sit up. "If you are, put on my heels for that. It hurts way more."

A soft chuckle pulled from his mouth and he brushed her hair from her face tiredly, swiping away the blood from a cut that had split open on his cheek, and his hands fluttered across her jaw, seething. "He bruised you."

Her hand covered his, shaking her head, before she pulled away and stood up, staring at the carnage around her - the unconscious bodies of the boys littered around them, and Andrew handed her, her jacket, silent and stoic, as usual. Pride surged through her and she looked up to Andrew as he crossed his arms, glaring at the slumped form of Leo. "We really showed them what happens when you mess with S.H.I.E.L.D. trainees, yeah? Where'd you even learn to fight like that, Andy?"

"United States Marine Corps." He said curtly.

"Huh," said Doreen. She narrowed her eyes at him. "How old are you?"

"Nineteen," said Andrew, becoming cagier.

"Really? And you were in the U.S. Marine Corps?" She asked.

"Yes." By now, Andrew's eyes were like cold iron. He didn't like where this conversation was going.

Doreen sighed, and then looked around the bar, thinking of something to say. "Well, this wasn't really what I was expecting from a night on the town," she said, laughing nervously.

Andrew relaxed. "No. I just hope that Fury doesn't find out about this."

"Find out about what?"

Doreen and Andrew jerked in surprise and turned to see Nick Fury standing behind them.

He was like a one-eyed ninja who sounded like Mace Windu from Star Wars. Fury looked about the alley. Three unconscious men, two bruised S.H.I.E.L.D. trainees, and blood on the dirty ground. He glared at Doreen and Andrew. "Both of you, with me. Now."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Doreen and Andrew stood, back at the apartment. In front of them, Fury paced back and forth. "I presume that both of you know what exactly you did wrong," he said. "Anyone care to elaborate exactly what happened in that club?"

Andrew stepped forwards. "I fixed a problem, sir."

Fury stared at him. "Care to elaborate?"

"Some sharks decided that Doreen was on the menu," he said, pointing a thumb at his female friend, "I changed their minds for them." Fury sighed and put his face in his hands. "Admittedly sir, that was a bad joke," said Andrew, "but I don't understand what the problem is."

Fury looked back up at the two of them. "You misappropriated time for you to move out of your apartment to go to a nightclub, and disturbed the peace, destroyed property, and severely beat three men. This is not the kind of activity we endorse at S.H.I.E.L.D."

Andrew snarled, "Then what should I have done? Let them have their way with Doreen?" He didn't bother saying that they were hardly 'men' in his opinion.

"You should have not gone out the nightclub in the first place," Fury said. "The reason you were here was to clean out your possessions from your apartment, so you could move to New York, not go play hookie."

"You gave me the night off to do what I needed to do!"

"Follow the spirit of the law, Predator, not the letter," Fury pointed at him. "You know full well that you were here to clean out this apartment- which, if I do say so myself, could do with a good cleaning up. Why did you even go to this night club?"

Andrew looked down. "As a way to say thanks to Doreen. Besides, the place used to be better."

"Your apartment or the club?" Fury said wryly.

Andrew covered his eyes and sighed in frustration. "The club."

Fury nodded. "Very well then. As much as I hate to do this, I'm going to have to suspend the two of you for the next week."

Andrew jerked in surprise and said, "No, sir! This was my decision, not Doreen's."

"Regardless, she knows better than to go for 'nights out' at the local nightclub that has seen better days," Fury said. "The two of you are getting one week's suspension, and that is final." With that, Director Fury turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Andrew sighed and looked at Doreen. "Sorry."

Doreen put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Andrew, I'll be fine. It's not like the rest of us don't get in trouble."

"Still, I wanted to pay you back for helping me," Andrew looked away. "Now, look what's happened. Those guys tried to rough you up, we trashed the bar, and we've got a week's suspension."

"Hey, we still had fun, right?" Doreen grinned mischievously, "What's better than teaching some no-good punks a lesson?"

Andrew chuckled halfheartedly. This might not be so bad after all.

Little did they know that Fury wasn't the only one who watched them battle. "Still the same as ever…"

Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread


	8. Chapter 8

Later that evening, Doreen found Andrew putting a long coat on over his armor, getting ready to leave. "Where are you heading off to, Mister Grumpus?" she said chirpily.

Andrew looked up and sighed. "I've got a week of suspension. I figured I'd use the time to take care of some business down here in Miami," he replied.

Doreen raised an eyebrow. "We're supposed to be picked up by a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet in the next hour," she said.

Andrew nodded. "Yeah, I know," he said. "I won't be going with you back to New York. I'll catch up later."

Doreen frowned, and replied "Hey, genius—you're on suspension. You're not supposed to go anywhere without logging your presence."

"I know. I already did," Andrew said, opening the door.

"Hey, hold on!" said Doreen, catching his shoulder. "Where are you going, anyhow?"

"Family visit," Andrew replied. He shook Doreen's hand off his shoulder and closed the door. Doreen stood stunned in front of the door. "He's got family?"

* * *

A little over half an hour later Andrew could be found walking up a long cold driveway. Despite being familiar to him, his home felt cold and distant. A multitude of thoughts were buzzing about his brain. (What am I going to tell them?) he wondered.

He unfortunately didn't get much time to think about it, due to a woman in her late forties opening the front door of the house and running towards him, embracing him in a huge bear hug. "Andrew, it's so good to see you." his mother said as she hugged him.

"Mom, what's going on with my brother?" Andrew replied.

His mother suddenly broke off the contact and looked him in the eyes, with a rare serious expression. "He got arrested-"

"I know he got arrested. That's why you called me. What's he in trouble for?" Andrew asked, crossing his arms in frustration.

"He stole a car with his friends," She began before starting to choke up, "but he claims it wasn't his idea."

"Forgive me if I don't believe a word that comes out of Avery's mouth," Andrew said in disgust.

"Don't you say that," his mother began angrily. "He's your brother!"

"Hmph," Andrew eloquently replied. Truth be told, he did care for his younger brother. Despite there being a four-year age gap between the two of them, he and his brother had been really close. Avery had seen him as the best thing since chocolate, and followed his every move.

"The way you talk about him makes me think you want nothing to do with him." his mother snapped.

"I want to be around him, but I have a job to do. You know that, mom." Andrew answered.

"No, I don't," she said.

"What do you mean, you don't?" Andrew questioned her. She did know that his work often kept him away from home for long periods of time, even if she never knew who exactly he worked for.

"I don't believe for a minute that you're working for an insurance firm in Miami," his mother answered.

"You're right, I got transferred to New York, Just happened," Andrew replied, taking advantage of the opportunity his mother had accidentally given him.

His mother's face fell. "So, what? You'll be away from home even more now?"

"I'm afraid so." Andrew replied, the whole while looking down at the ground, he couldn't look his mother in the face while he answered.

"Well, as much as I'm saddened by the thought of you being hundreds of miles away, I understand that you've got a job to do," she replied calmly.

"That's not the kind of reaction I was expecting." Andrew replied, which surprised her a little.

"What makes you say that?" Andrew's mom asked him.

"I thought you would try and convince me to stay," he answered her, be it a little shyly.

"Andrew I am a little sad, but I also understand that your work, much like your father's, keeps you away for a while." Andrew let out a small laugh and gave his mother a big hug.

"Thanks mom," he said sincerely.

"No problem. Now why don't you give your brother a talk, while I prepare dinner?"

* * *

Andrew knocked softly on his brother's door, partially so that he wouldn't seem angry at his brother. When he didn't receive a response he knocked again, be it a little more loudly.

"What mom!?" an angry voice yelled as the door suddenly swung open and his brother Avery stood before him. "Oh, it's you." Avery stated. He almost spat out that last part, like saying 'you' was an insult.

"I heard you were in trouble, Avery" Andrew asked.

"What do you even care!?" Avery yelled, before slamming the door in his older brother's face. Or, he tried to.

"Ouch," Andrew said flatly, his foot stuck in the door. Avery opened the door again, glowering with rage. "Look, kiddo. I do care about you–"

"No you don't! You skipped town with the recruiting sergeant as soon as you were eighteen!" Avery snapped.

"Since when does joining the Marines count as skipping town?" Andrew raised an eyebrow, resisting the urge to snap back.

"It just does alright, now leave me alone!" His brother yelled at him.

"Stubborn as a damn mule." Andrew muttered under his breath, casting about for a response. "How does going to serve my country count as abandonment?"

"It's not the fact that you left us for the Marines," his brother began in between enraged breaths. "It's because after you came back on a stretcher, you left as soon as you could walk to take some insurance job. You don't call us, you don't text. Heck, I don't think you call unless you need something," Avery said as he counted off every offense on his fingers.

"Well I'm here now, and that's all that matters," Andrew tried to reason.

"Too little, too late," Avery began while holding up his right hand to block the face of his brother. "You're just as bad as Dad." At that comment, Andrew felt his rage beginning to build. Insulting him was one thing, but nobody, especially his kid brother, insulted his father.

"Don't you talk about Dad like that!" Andrew snapped at Avery, earning a stunned silence from his little brother. "It's because of him that you live in a nice house, in a nice safe neighborhood, with a steady income. Look, Avery- I know he's away on business a lot, but when you're in his line of work, his job takes months."

"So what, he's probably having more fun than anything," Avery dismissed.

"I'm not going to waste my breath trying to reason with you, kid," Andrew sighed. "I'm going to do downstairs and talk with mom. Feel free to join when you're done with your temper tantrum," Andrew said as he turned his back on his kid brother, and walked out of his room. He really hoped to hear his brother's footsteps behind him, but instead was met with the sound of his door slamming shut.

* * *

"Delicious. Thanks, mom." Andrew complimented as he finished the meal that his mother had prepared him.

"Don't mention it, I know how much you like roast beef," she said with a small laugh. Suddenly, a loud knocking could be heard from the front door. "Who the heck could be coming by the house at this hour?" his mother asked as she got up from the dining room and headed for the front door.

Andrew could only silently nod his head in agreement as he looked down at his watch. The time read 9:27 PM. Indeed, it was unusual to be receiving visitors at this late an hour. "Andrew, our guest is here for you," his mom called from the other room.

"Who is it?" Andrew yelled back at her. When his mother did not reply, he started getting nervous, but his nerves where quickly replaced by both surprise and anger when he saw who his mother had welcomed into their room. "Ava," he murmured under his breath upon seeing his field handler enter the dining room.

"Hey, Andrew. Just thought I'd come in and check on you," Ava said. Her voice seemed to have an unusual cheerful tone. Perhaps she was acting for the sake of his family.

"This is unexpected, Ava." Andrew said without looking up. "I did not know that our... boss had sent you down here as well," he said carefully.

"Well, I'll let you two discuss business. I'll prepare some dessert," his mother said.

Once his mother had left towards the kitchen, Andrew turned to face his field handler. "What are you doing here, Ava? I don't recall inviting you into my home," Andrew growled.

"I'm here because of your actions at the night club," Ava snarled back. "You brought this on yourself."

"Don't you think for a second I wanted to put Doreen in danger!" Andrew hissed, earning a startled look from her.

"I know you didn't mean to, Andrew," Ava began in a calm and collected tone, "but what you did was serious. You endangered another student," she said in a calm voice.

"I didn't know that would happen. I was just trying to say thank you for the help she provided me with," Andrew said defensively.

Ava sighed in exasperation. "Why am I even debating this with you? What you did was stupid. You're on a week's suspension because of it–"

"I know all of this already! Why are you telling me it again?" Blustered Andrew, getting up from his seat.

"Because I've been assigned to keep tabs on you, and make sure you don't do anything else wrong," Ava snapped back.

Andrew sat back. "Oh."

"Yeah. I'm here now to inform you, and to give you a warning from Director Fury," Ava continued.

Andrew looked up. "Really?" He asked.

"Yes. I believe his words went something along the lines of, 'If you try anything like this again, I'll have Nova seal you inside your suit for the next month'," Ava replied.

"Hm," Andrew raised his eyebrows. "I wonder how he would do that?"

"It doesn't matter. The point is that if you value the endorsement of S.H.I.E.L.D., you'll behave," Ava replied as she crossed her arms and glared.

"Alright," said Andrew, nodding. "Message received; I'll behave."

Ava narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll believe that when I see it," she quipped back.

They were still having a staring contest when Andrew's mother returned with pie and ice cream. Suddenly, both their wrist communicators started beeping, indicating a mission update. "What are those?" Andrew's mom asked as she took a sip from her cup of coffee.

Andrew wasn't sure how to reply, but thankfully Ava saved him. "Our boss gave us these in event of an emergency at work," she replied smoothly. She obviously had done this before.

"Could you excuse us for a minute?" Ava asked politely as both her and Andrew rose from their sitting position.

"Go ahead," his mother replied as she continued to drink her coffee.

Andrew and Ava exchanged a silent nod of agreement and quickly walked out of earshot. "Ava here." she replied as she activated the direct communication line to Fury.

"Ava, Kraven has been spotted in downtown Miami. Take Predator and see if you can bring him in. Your third member will be joining you at the coordinates I'm sending you right now," Fury ordered as their wrist communicators showed their destination.

"We'll take care of Kraven, Fury," Ava said, be it a little more aggressively than usual.

* * *

After the two had bid their farewells to Andrew's mother, both Andrew and Ava could be found at the location that Fury had ordered them to go to. "You going to get changed?" Andrew asked her as he took notice that she was still in her civilian attire.

Ava gave him a look. "What do you think?" She replied. "You want to see if I have it on?" She asked, making like she was going to reach for the bottom of her shirt, causing Andrew to turn around very quickly. "Don't worry, Bashful," Ava joked. "I wasn't going to do anything. Spidey's bringing my outfit."

"Special delivery. One fashionable striped suit for the lovely lady," Spider-Man quipped as he swung over, dropping a backpack at Ava's feet.

"Thank you," Ava replied. She looked at Andrew. "No peeking, for real," she said.

Andrew and Spider-Man immediately turned around. "…So, how's it going?" Spider-Man asked awkwardly, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Staying out of trouble, dealing with family, making excuses for my absence. The usual," Andrew replied. "And you?"

"Eh. Living on the edge, fighting crime, spinning webs," Spiderman said eloquently.

Andrew nodded, and began looking around, making sure he didn't turn around accidentally. Off to his left, he saw a person in silhouette. The person was mostly in shadow, but their white hood and skull-like mask was visible. Before he could say anything, the person disappeared. "So, did Spidey bring your suit?" Ava asked.

Andrew's response was to pull off his over coat, revealing his Predator armor. He then proceeded to press a button on his neck. His helmet formed from his suit collar, covering his face. "Ready for action," he replied.

"Let's go, 'Clark'," Ava joked, causing Andrew to roll his eyes.

As the three heroes went into action, the skull-masked figure watched silently, and whispered, "Andrew…"

Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread

Editor's note: I do not own the Spectacular Spider-Man theme song.


	9. Chapter 9

"So, one question," asked Predator, crouched on a rooftop beside Spider-Man and White Tiger.

"Shoot," said Spider-Man.

"So, how exactly are we supposed to find Kraven, anyhow?" Predator continued. "This guy is supposed to be one of the best huntsmen the world over. He's got to be good at hiding his trail. I only found him last time because he was up and about. Now, how are we going to find him now that he's gone to ground?"

"I'll let White Tiger answer that one," said Spider-Man.

"Gee, thanks," groused White Tiger. "The trick to finding Kraven is just letting him know you're in town. If he wants to find you–"

"-I will," Kraven finished for her. "Hello, dear White Tiger. How nice to see you again…"

The group turned from their huddle to face the Hunter, tensed. "S'up, Kraven," said Predator. "Ready for a rematch?"

"Actually, yes, I am," said Kraven, and then he whistled. A trio of black panthers, each seven feet long, leaped up to join him on the rooftop.

"Of course," said Spider-Man. "It wouldn't be a real fight with Kraven unless he has some kind of big, hungry cat with him."

"Didn't you have a big, hungry cat on your side that one time? If the two of you can handle the overgrown house cats, I can take Kraven," said Predator.

"Hey, wait–" Spider-Man called, but Predator cocked the submachine guns in his gauntlets and opened fire. Kraven leaped back and began dodging, and Predator stepped forwards, pressing his advantage. The panthers growled and stepped forward, but each was met with a shot of web in the face. The big cats yowled in annoyance and began clawing at the webbing, trying to get it off. "I was going to say that the cats would be easy to take out, and we should all try to take Kraven on together!" Spider-Man said.

Predator gave a noncommittal grunt and continued firing at Kraven. "Hey Kraven, it's three on one," he said as he continued to fire his submachine gun, which the hunter seemed to be dodging quite easily, "How about you surrender so we can call it a night?"

"Forgive me if I decline," Kraven said with a small laugh, as he threw a small rectangular shaped object at Predator. Predator immediately attempted to jump to the side, but the object being hurled at him opened up the reveal a bright red energy net, which ensnared Predator's legs, bringing him to the ground. "I said I was ready for a rematch didn't I?" Kraven asked as he pulled an energy dagger from his belt. "It's time to add another 'Predator' to my trophy case," Kraven raised the knife, preparing to bring it down on Predator.

"Sorry Kraven, but no sharp objects allowed," Spider-Man declared as he shot a web at Kraven's knife hand, snagging it. Before Kraven could tear his weapon free, Spider-Man gave the webbing a tug, which pulled the knife from his hand. "Besides, this guy is truly 'The Most Dangerous Game'."

White Tiger followed up with delivering a punishing jump kick into Kraven's jaw. Kraven was knocked backwards a little bit, but White Tiger continued her advance before he could recover.

Predator frowned as he finally managed to trigger his claws and cut the net off his legs. Spider-Man hadn't shown that much fondness for him earlier. Why waste energy making sure he was okay?

Spider-Man moved over and offered Predator a hand to get back to his feet. Predator looked closely at Spider-Man, then took his hand. "Thanks... I guess."

Spider-Man pulled Predator to his feet with a sigh. "Gee, don't get so enthusiastic, buddy."

Predator grunted and turned to face Kraven, who was still trading punches with White Tiger. He primed his grappling hook and aimed it at Kraven. If he could time this just right...

"Wait- some things not right; Kraven is never this easy to beat." Spider-Man said, catching Predator by the shoulder.

"His back is turned and I've got a clear shot." Predator replied coldly. He shook off Spider-Man and fired his grappling hook, but Kraven heard the whizz of the deploying grappling hook and leaped over it in a back-flip, with a smug smile on his face. The grappling hook zipped underneath him, missing his leg by a hair, and caught White Tiger in the shoulder. Predator and Spider-Man could only watch in horror as White Tiger screamed in pain and fell to the ground, passing out.

"You should have listened to your leader, Predator," Kraven laughed as he threw a dart at White Tiger. The dart dug into her skin, pumping who knew what into her system. "It was too easy to turn your lack of experience into an advantage," Kraven said as he crouched over the now still form of White Tiger. Predator aimed his submachine gun gauntlet at Kraven, while Spidey also was preparing to fire his Taser webbing at Kraven. "I wouldn't if I were either of you," Kraven said in a mocking tone as he pulled out another glowing red energy knife and held the glowing blade to White Tiger's throat. Spider-Man and Predator lowered their weapons. Kraven smirked, "That's what I thought."

"You have a hostage Kraven," Predator said, as he tried to formulate a way out of this situation. "Now what do you want?" He was instead met with a laugh so evil it chilled both him and Spider-Man to the bone.

"You are a fool, Predator," Kraven began as he was reaching for something in his belt. "She is what I want. I could kill her and take what I want right now, but I have other business to attend to, here in Miami. I would rather finish both White Tiger and my other business at the same time." He ripped off White Tiger's wrist communicator and smashed it beneath his boot.

"Good luck finding me," Kraven laughed, and threw a small grenade into the ground, which exploded into a cloud of dark, concealing smoke.

The smoke cleared away moments later, revealing that Kraven was gone, taking White Tiger with him. Predator could only stare there in stunned silence upon realizing the seriousness of the situation, and then the silence was broken as a red fist punched him in the face, knocking him down to the ground. "I told you not to fire, and now look what's happened!" Spider-Man said as Predator got back to his feet.

"I'm sorry–" Predator started to say, but was cut off by Spider-Man again.

"You don't understand just how serious this situation is, don't you?" Spider-Man seethed as he paced frantically back in forth.

"I know a hostage situation is always dangerous, but I also know that White Tiger is stronger than most hostages," Predator said, as he pulled up his HUD and began calculating possible plans of action.

"No, Kraven will KILL her." Spider-Man said, which earned a stunned silence form Predator. "Kraven almost killed her once, and now there is nothing stopping him from doing it now, since we can't track him." Spider-Man now stood in place, trembling with rage and helplessness.

"That's not entirely true..." Predator said.

"He smashed her Communicator. How else could we track down those two?" Spider-Man asked.

Predator's response was to light up a holographic projection from the watch on his right gauntlet. It showed a red blinking dot that was currently moving farther away from their location. "How'd you do that?" Spider-Man asked as he inspected the hologram.

"Nanobots. I had a few on my grappling hook, in case things went south. Good thing," Predator said.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Spider-Man checked the hologram again, and then shot a web in the direction Kraven was running. "Let's go–"

"-Tiger hunting," Predator finished for him, firing a grappling hook in the same direction.

"I'm almost starting to like you, newbie," Spider-Man said as the two leaped off the building, leaving a trio of very upset panthers behind.

They didn't know that their actions had been watched by the skull-faced figure from earlier. The figure pressed a button on her wrist, activating a scanner that quickly picked up the nanobots from Predator's grappling hook. "So, you're fighting the Wizard of Oz reject, then…" She muttered as she walked patiently in the direction the scanner was indicating.

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	10. Chapter 10

Kraven leaped to the next rooftop, balancing the limp body of White Tiger over his shoulder. He was in the middle of a hunt, and the spandex-wearing children had dropped her right into his hands! This night was going well. Now all that was left to do was to stash White Tiger in a statehouse. The serum he'd injected her with should keep her unconscious for the next hour or so, and sickly and weak long after that, but with the power of the Tiger Amulet enhancing her physical abilities, who knew how long the serum would keep its effect? It would be best to incapacitate her further and leave her for later. Right now, Kraven had bigger fish to–

A web ball caught Kraven square in the back, knocking him off balance. Kraven dropped to the ground and spun around, feeding off his momentum and turning to face his aggressors in one fluid movement. Spider-Man leaped to the rooftop after him, bouncing off of an air-conditioning unit and landing lightly in front of Kraven. Predator followed, simply dropping straight onto the rooftop, letting his armor take the brunt of the impact. The concrete cracked as he landed, but the surface held. "So, Kraven," said Spider-Man, "wanna do this the easy way, or the hard way?"

Kraven growled in anger and dropped White Tiger to the rooftop, stepping in front of her. "You're not taking my prey from me again, Spider-Man," the Russian villain growled.

Spider-Man shrugged. "Hard way, then. Oh, well," he said as he shot a flurry of web balls at Kraven and leaped after them.

Kraven pulled a pair of hunting knives, and with a series of expert slashes, he cut the web balls out of the air. He had to step back to avoid a kick from Spider-Man as he landed, and lunged forwards again, cutting at Spider-Man. In response, Spider-Man clapped his hands together, which confused Kraven for a moment. "Check out my new magic trick," Spider-Man quipped as he drew them apart, a spider web forming between his fingers. He used this to trap Kraven's knives and tug him forward, away from White Tiger. "See? I just made your knives disappear," he said as he knocked the knives away with a flick of his wrists.

Meanwhile, Predator attempted to skirt around the fight, watching for an opportunity. There! Kraven had moved forwards a few steps to get the advantage on Spider-Man, leaving White Tiger completely open. Plenty of time to aim right. He didn't want to mess up again. Predator fired his grappling hook, snagging White Tiger on the shoulder. A sharp tug, enhanced by his power armor, brought her sliding towards him, but Kraven noticed and threw an energy knife straight from his belt at the cord, effectively separating the grappling hook line from White Tiger. Predator was only caught off guard for a second before he began firing his submachine gun at Kraven, which the hunter dodged quit easily. "You should have learned by now that your gun will not help you," Kraven snarled as he threw a knife at Predator. Predator's simple response was to fire his gun at the incoming projectile, knocking it into the air before firing again, sending the energy knife flying back at Kraven, who dodged the projectile with ease. "You should also have learned by now that video game tricks won't-"

Kraven's gloating was interrupted by a punch across the face by Spider-Man. "A little Falcon Punch never hurt anyone, bro," the web-faced hero quipped.

"I am not your 'bro'," Kraven dead panned as he took a step back. He didn't want to get too far from White Tiger. The heroes would definitely take advantage of- "Where did she go?" Kraven asked.

"Looking for this fine, young lady?" Predator asked, holding White Tiger on his shoulder.

Kraven growled. "You will regret denying me my prey!" He snapped as he dashed forward.

"I've got a gun that says otherwise," Predator quipped as he began firing his submachine gun. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of light, and he leaned out of the way in reflex. The projectile flew over his shoulder and hit Kraven in the shoulder, immediately knocking him down.

"Whoa. How'd you do that?" Spider-Man asked, surprised.

Predator said nothing, but shrugged as he gently placed White Tiger on the ground. He walked cautiously over to the hunter, submachine gun at the ready. "Looks like Kraven's out," he said.

Spider-Man walked cautiously over. "Doesn't look like he's faking it," he said. "You take Kraven. I'll take Tiger."

Predator draped Kraven over his shoulder. Before he followed Spider-Man, he looked in the direction that the knockout shot had come from. "I've got a bad feeling that she's on our tail," he murmured to himself before running in the direction Spider-Man had gone.


	11. Chapter 11

"He still in here?" Power Man asked as he entered the observation deck which overlooked the training room.

"Indeed," his friend Iron Fist said as he too eyed Predator. "He just keeps on going, no matter how good his score," Iron Fist observed.

"He could be just determined," Power Man suggested.

"Perhaps," Iron Fist said as he hung his head in contemplation, "but I sense there is more to him than that." Below the observation deck, inside the training room, Predator worked through his feelings by destroying wave after wave of LMDs. Currently, he was using the leg of one poor machine to crush the heads of several of its fellows. "I sense pure rage in his fighting style." Iron Fist said as he continued to observe the rookie.

"I'm no expert in that category, so I'll leave the observations to you," Power Man said as he turned and walked out of the observation room. Iron Fist simply continued to observe the rookie.

* * *

"Come on!" Predator yelled as he impaled another LMD on his claws and used its corpse as a projectile, knocking yet another LMD to pieces.

"Round Complete," The computer informed him over the room's speakers.

"Run it again," Predator ordered as he quickly caught his breath, until an unexpected voice caught him off guard.

"Don't you think you've trained enough for one day?" The calm voice of Iron Fist asked Predator.

"Hardly," Predator snapped without turning to face Iron Fist.

"Predator, you have been training all day. I think you deserve a break," Iron Fist said as he gently placed a hand on Predators shoulders. He was met by Predator turning around and swatting his hand off Predator's shoulder.

"Watch yourself, Iron Fist," Predator began coldly as he eyed his colleague. "You should never let your guard down," Predator lectured, which earned a small laugh from Iron Fist, which caught Predator off guard.

"Why should I keep my guard up in the presence of my friends?" Iron Fist pondered.

"You never know who your enemy is," Predator began as he pressed a button on his collar, which retracted his helmet with a mechanical hiss, revealing his face that was dripping sweat. "It's best to always keep your guard up at all times." he finished, as he started to walk out of the training room.

"If you look for enemies among your friends, that is all you will find. I also noticed something in your fighting style that you should heed my advice on," Iron Fist called from behind Predator, which caused the armored hero to turn around.

"Do tell," Predator replied as he folded his arms.

"I don't see determination in the way you destroy your opponents. I see pure, unbridled rage. If you are to increase your proficiency, you must harness that rage." Iron Fist said, which earned a snarl from Predator.

"Sometimes you got to resort to pure rage, and if you are done lecturing me, I got important business to attend to," Predator snapped as he turned his back on Iron Fist and left the training room.

"Pure rage, like anything pure, can rot and corrupt you," Iron Fist said as Predator walked away. He didn't dare mention names, knowing that doing so would make Predator less receptive to his advice in the future.

Ignoring him, Predator walked to the medical bay to visit Ava. He asked the doctor how she was doing, and the answer was the same: She was steadily recovering from whatever Kraven had injected into her. It would still be a while before she could go back into the field, though.

"I had a feeling I'd find you here," Fury called from behind Predator.

"Gee. What gives you that idea?" Predator sarcastically replied.

"You have been checking on Ava almost every hour since you and Spider-Man brought her in," Fury answered, unfazed. Sarcasm was something he dealt with on a daily basis, especially sarcasm from Hawkeye and Iron Man.

"I just feel guilty, sir," Predator replied while he held his head low in shame.

"Care to elaborate son?" Fury asked as he took a seat on the bench next to Predator.

"If I had not taken that shot, Kraven would not have injected her with that serum," Predator said, but before he could finish, Fury held up a hand gesture so that he himself could talk.

"You rushed the situation, but you also corrected a mistake," Fury said, which caused Predator to jerk his head up in surprise.

"Sir, there is nothing positive to take from this." Predator replied, which caused Fury to snort.

"Is that Predator talking, or Andrew Steele talking?" Fury asked him, which earned a stunned silence from Predator. "Before you ask, I debriefed Squirrel Girl upon her return to the academy, and she told me your real name. I must say, I'm impressed with your background." Fury said as he held up a tablet and handed it to Andrew. Andrew took it into his hand and saw his old U.S.M.C. file. "United States Marine Core at only 19, and you served in operations 'Dawn Breaker, Allied Assault, and Overlord'. You're a tough kid, but at least you still care about your friends. You want my advice on something?" The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. asked.

"Sure," Predator replied, really not in the mood for advice.

"Try to be less like the Hulk, okay?" Fury asked. "Life's about more than just rage, or hiding from it."

Predator was surprised, but he understood. It was like what Iron Fist had said to him earlier. Something about pure rage, or something like that. "I'll try," he said after a moment of contemplation.

"That's all I ask," Fury replied as he got up and walked away.

* * *

*Meanwhile*

Leo had returned to the club, trying to find a nice girl. The tangle he'd had with Andrew had caused his nose to heal strangely, but that was alright. He thought women found a guy with 'battle scars', as he called them, attractive. Unfortunately, there weren't any women there he fancied. He decided to try his luck at the bar. There would be pretty women there, and if there weren't, there was always some beer. That's when he saw her. She was tall and thin, she was he palest shade of white he'd ever seen, and for some reason, she was bald. (Maybe she lost it in an accident or something,) Leo thought, (or she's doing chemo.) Her clothing was pretty much nondescript: just a normal light blue sleeveless shirt and blue jeans. He walked over and sat next to her. "Hey. What's a pretty lady like you doing at a joint like this?" He asked. "You should come back to my place. It's a lot cleaner there, and I've got good beer there, too," he added.

"Maybe if you buy my drink, I'll consider it," the mystery woman said in a flat, deadpan voice, not bothering to look at him.

Without a second thought, Leo pulled out some money. "Next drink is on me," he said to the bartender, who shrugged and accepted the money, giving the woman some more beer. "So, how's about coming with me when you're done with that drink?" Leo asked.

"I think … no," the woman replied bluntly, drinking the beer.

"That's grea—Wait. What? Did you just say 'no'? To me?" Leo asked, shocked. Most girls weren't this hard to get.

"Do I need to spell it out for you?" The woman asked bluntly. "I can spell it out in English, Spanish, French, German, or Japanese. Take your pick."

Leo growled softly, his hands curling into fists. "You're really starting to annoy me," he said, trying to sound threatening.

"Ooh. I care so much, and I am so scared," the woman replied sarcastically. "No, wait. I do not care." Angry, Leo tried to swing at her, but she caught his fist midair. "Weak," she said, releasing Leo's fist. "Best not try that again. You don't want to make me angry."

"Well, you made ME angry!" Leo snapped. He tried to swing at her again, but she kicked him in the stomach, right in the spot that knocked the wind out of him.

"Well, excuse me for not caring about your hissy fit," the woman said. "No need to have a temper tantrum." Leo's friends quickly dragged him again. The woman continued sipping her beer. She wasn't the type to just drain the cup as quickly as she could. She preferred to savor and enjoy her drinks. Suddenly, her phone went off. She looked at the caller ID. "What is up, Tony?" She asked blandly.

"Guys giving you trouble?" Tony asked.

"I would not call it trouble. He could not even take a kick. Why are you calling me?" The woman asked.

"I need someone to keep an eye on our wayward Predator," Tony replied.

"I will not do," the woman replied warily. "I am … what is the English phrase? Too obvious, I believe. You will need someone who is less known. Besides, I have a feeling he may have spotted me a couple times."

"I have a couple other people in mind," Tony said, sounding a bit surprised. "If they don't accept the mission, you will have to do it. You're one of my best operatives."

"I understand," the woman said, hanging up. She hated anything to do with S.H.I.E.L.D., but the man was right. In all modesty, she was one of the best there was at what she did.

* * *

*Meanwhile*

Tony looked at the phone. He'd had a feeling that the woman would reject his job offer if given the chance. She was right, too. She was too obvious, and there wasn't anything she could do about that. 'Good thing I've got other operatives, ones who don't stick out so much,' he thought as he dialed another number. "Hello," he said simply.

"What's up, boss?" The man on the other end of the line asked.

"Chill, I need you to keep an eye on our wayward Predator," Tony replied.

There was a brief moment of silence. "What about the girl? Wouldn't she be a better choice?" Chill asked.

"Omeran would be too obvious, given her history with S.H.I.E.L.D. Plus, she believes her cover may have been … compromised," Tony said.

"I find that hard to believe," Chill replied, "but I'll take the job anyways. I'll keep an eye on our wayward Predator for you."

"Good," Tony replied. "You start tomorrow," he added, hanging up. 'You can't run forever, Predator'… he thought.

Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread


	12. Chapter 12

"Here's the plan," Director Fury said, pressing a button on the dash. An image of a skyscraper-like building appeared. "This is a simulation. We've got civilians trapped on the upper levels, and the building's got weak foundations, so you've got a limited amount of time before it comes down on you."

"Doesn't sound too tough," Agent Venom said, cracking his knuckles. "Go in, save some civs. Seems easy enough."

"It never is that easy," Predator replied. "This is S.H.I.E.L.D., not Looney Toons." Squirrel Girl gave him a fist bump for that.

"I might have forgotten to mention that there's soldiers in the lower levels. Also, stealth is of utmost importance, so try to make it through without any enemy causalities," Fury said. "Here are the teams: Team 1 is Agent Venom, Triton, Squirrel Girl, Predator, and Power Man, and Team 2 is Cloak, Dagger, Iron Fist, Iron Spider, and Rhino. The team to evacuate the most civilians before time's up wins."

"Sounds good to me," Predator replied.

"You've got half an hour to come up with a plan," Fury said, interrupting Predator, "so get to it."

"Yes, sir!" Predator replied as the two teams withdrew from the room.

-Meanwhile-

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Spider-Man said, observing events from the observation deck.

"What do you mean?" White Tiger asked. "I think we can trust Predator and Agent Venom to not tear each other apart."

"That's only half of what I'm worried about," Spider-Man replied. "I'm worried about Squirrel Girl and Predator together. The last time they were together, it didn't go very well at all."

"Fury told me about that," White Tiger replied. "I think he's just trying to see how they work in a more normal situation. Well, normal as it gets for us, anyways."

* * *

-Meanwhile-

"So, here's what I'm thinking," Power Man began. "We climb up the building, and avoid the soldiers that way."

"That's a bad idea," Predator replied. "For one thing, you're afraid of heights. Two, we're not Spider-Man."

"I'm pretty close, though," Agent Venom protested.

"Whatever," Predator replied eloquently. "I've done stuff like this, before. Power Man, Triton, Doreen- I mean, Squirrel Girl, you three stick to going up the stairs. Take out any soldiers in your way. Agent Venom and I will take the scenic route outside, come down the stairs, and meet you in the middle, where the hostages are. Knowing Fury, we'll have soldiers on the outside, too, so don't think we'll have it easy."

"Alright," said Agent Venom. "Let's get to work!"

The holographic room dropped Agent Venom and Predator on the rooftop of the simulated building. The other members of their unit being dropped to the bottom floor. "Is everyone in position?" Fury asked everyone over the speakers. Everyone running the training mission signaled thumbs up, letting Fury know that they were ready to commence the operation. "Good. Your 30 minutes start… Now!" Fury ordered as the clock in the observation room began counting down.

"We should go through the window," Venom began, causing Predator to look at his partner. "If we take that route, we could take them by surprise, and take them down easy." he finished, punching his fist into his palm for extra emphasis.

"That's a terrible idea," Predator deadpanned as he pulled up a holographic display of the building from his right gauntlet.

"Why, dude?" Venom asked. "It's a perfect plan of execution." he argued.

"The problem is that if we rappel down the side, we would have to break the windows getting in, and the sound of breaking glass would draw a lot of attention, thus jeopardizing the hostages, our teammates and this whole operation." Predator quickly lectured, which earned a face palm from Venom.

"You could have just said that breaking glass would have just make noise," Venom commented.

"Well, it never hurts to know exactly what the consequences of those actions are. That way, you won't make a similar mistake again," Predator said before pausing to take a breath. "Now, if we are finished here, I suggest simply taking the stairs, so let's to work." Predator said as he cracked his knuckles. "After all, the door's 10 feet away from your back."

Before either of them could open the door, it opened and a lone gunman walked out to the door. His response upon seeing them was to try and reach for his radio, but Venom wouldn't have that. Within the course of two seconds, his hand stretched to where the guard was standing and snapped the radio in half. Only confused for a second, the guard raised his weapon, and was met with several bullets striking him in his chest.

Venom turned towards Predator to see his gauntlet submachine gun smoking slightly. "What did you do that for?" Venom asked as they quickly moved up to the now open rooftop door.

"What are you talking about?" Predator asked as he quickly entered the building and took up a defensive position at the next door.

"Fury said that we weren't supposed to have any enemy casualties, and I'm no army dude, but that guy looks a lot like a casualty to me," Agent Venom replied.

"Those bullets are meant to cause discomfort," Predator replied. "He'll be out for a few minutes."

"And when he comes to, we'll be long gone," Agent Venom said.

Predator nodded, and the two quickly made their way down the staircase. The building began to rumble slightly. "25 minutes remaining!" Fury's voice rang out.

"All the time in the world," Agent Venom replied.

Predator's radio buzzed. "Hey, are you guys okay? We're getting close to where the hostages are," Squirrel Girl said.

"We are doing okay, but please maintain radio silence at all times," Predator replied politely. He put the radio back on his belt, and was promptly under fire from a man wielding a strange weapon firing pulses of sound. Predator and Venom dodged out of the way, and the errant sound pulse shattered the door behind them.

"Let's go that way," Agent Venom said, dashing toward the door.

"Venom, don't!" Predator tried to warn, but before he could do anything, the sound weapon hit him in the back, causing him to buckle to the ground. With an exasperated groan, Predator dashed in, grabbed Venom, and ran through the shattered door. "Fury certainly knew what he was doing," he mused.

"No kidding," Agent Venom replied. "The symbiote hates sound pulses, and I don't blame it. So, any idea where we are?"

Predator called up a holographic display of the building. "We're here," he said, pointing to the room where they were, which was still some ways away from the hostages. "We can't go that way because that guy's got us pinned down in here. No doubt, he's alerted his friends to our presence, so we can go with your plan and go through the windows."

"I told you," Agent Venom replied, webbing the doorway shut before sprinting to and breaking the window. "Let's get going!" He said.

The building rumbled again. "20 minutes remaining!" Fury's voice rang out.

Predator went out the window and began descending the building, using the strength of the Predator armor suit to keep himself from descending uncontrollably. As he had predicted, there were villains in jetpacks flying around. "Fly off, pigeons, 'fore I pluck ya!" Agent Venom told them.

"This isn't Darksiders, 'Ulthane'," Predator sarcastically replied as he went lower and lower on the building. The display on his glove showed that there were several guards around the hostages, but those would be taken care of easily. "Get your butt down here!" He shouted to Agent Venom.

"See ya, dudes!" Agent Venom replied as he jumped down, using a webline to go through the window Predator indicated. "So, what now?" He asked Predator.

"We're gonna need to disable the guards and retrieve the hostages," Predator replied. He handed a gun-like device to Agent Venom. "You can incorporate machines into your armor, right? Incorporate that Taser."

"Oh, yeah," Agent Venom said happily as the symbiote absorbed the device. "Electrowebs, here I come!"

Predator rolled his eyes, and the two made their way to the hostage room. By the time they got to the door, there were only five minutes left. "GO GO GO GO!" Predator shouted. Venom pushed the door to the side, and used his new Electrowebs to shock the guards. He picked up some hostages, as did Predator.

Predator picked up his radio. "I've got the hostages! Let's get out of here!" He said.

"What about the other hostages?" Triton asked.

"We've got them. Now, let's get out of here. Not all of us have impenetrable skin," Rhino replied. The three groups either exited out the door (almost everyone) or through a third-story window (Rhino, Venom, and Predator).

"Well done," Squirrel Girl said to Predator.

"Not bad," Director Fury said. "Team 2, you rescued the least number of hostages, 6, but you managed to avoid the soldiers. Team 1, you rescued 10 hostages, but you frequently encountered soldiers, especially you, Agent Venom and Predator. As far as I'm concerned, Team 2 is the winner."

"WHAT?!" Team 1 asked, shocked.

"You heard me. The objective was stealth, and Team 2 held onto their stealth the longest. Obviously, Predator and Agent Venom need to work on their stealth skills, so they can be subtler than a prison riot," Fury replied, sneaking in a jab at the end.

Predator groaned and rolled his eyes. "Well, I thought you did great," Squirrel Girl said.

"Thanks, Doreen," Predator replied as he walked out of the room.

* * *

-Meanwhile-

"I think they did well," White Tiger said.

Spider-Man nodded. "They do need to work on their stealth, though," he replied. "Is it just me, or did Fury crack a joke at the end of that remark?" He asked.

"He definitely did," White Tiger replied. "I'm jealous of Predator. At least he's out in the field. I wish I was out in the field."

"As of tomorrow, you will be," Doc Connors replied. "Whatever Kraven injected you with, the aftereffects seem to have worn off. Get a good night's sleep," the doctor advised.

"I've got a lot to do tomorrow," White Tiger replied, happy that her recovery time was done.

"I'll make sure she doesn't overexert herself," Spider-Man said.

"Good," Doc Connors said, turning around and exiting the room.

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	13. Chapter 13

**Another so soon, my friends? Yea, I got a full head of steam, so my partner The Dark Lord Duroth, my Editor Darkest Nightmare's Dread, and I tried to get these out quickly, and yet as good as possible. I thank you for all my loyal friends and readers who have stuck with us, and I hope this filler chapter meets expectations. Just as a heads up, since I don't want people to be confused and asking me about it in the comments, this chapter takes place the day after chapter 12. Just to avoid confusion. On to the show, my good friends. If you have any ideas, suggestions or questions for me, please message me of post them in the comments.**

Chapter 13

"Everyone ready?" asked Power Man. The team chorused their assent as the room darkened.

He smiled, "Let's enjoy a movie!"

The screen lit up with the opening trailers. The S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy students occupied an entire row of the movie theater, dressed in civilian attire and armed with a plethora of snacks and drinks. Spider-Man (or Peter Parker, although Andrew couldn't really recognize him as such) turned to look at Andrew. "Hey man, how'd you get us tickets to this movie anyhow? It's premiere night, and this is one of the most anticipated horror movies of the year!"

"Uh…" Andrew began nervously as he tried to answer his team's leader. "Well, I have a... relative who worked on the movie," Andrew answered evasively, the whole time not taking his eyes off the screen, which was currently advertising an unfunny looking romantic comedy.

"Wow, seriously?!" Peter asked a little too loudly, which earned hushes from both his teammates and other moviegoers.

"Yes," Andrew whispered, finally turning to face his leader. "My father works for Hollywood, and he got attached to this movie," Andrew said.

"Dude, that's so cool. What part of the movie did he work on?" Peter asked again a little too loudly, which earned hushes once again. This time, they were a little fiercer.

"My last name is Steele, so look for my last name in the end credits," Andrew said as the already dimly lit theater plunged into pure darkness. Low, creepy music began to fill the theater, followed by the title: "Shattered" which proceeded to break into shards of glass. About thirty minutes into the movie, it was obvious that the entire theater was on edge, and the movie had yet to have a single jump scare, Andrew could tell just by looking at his teammates that they were on edge. Peter, in particular, seemed to jump with every change in the music. Doreen, who happened to be sitting next to him, currently had her eyes glued to the screen when suddenly, the movie gave its first scare. The house in the movie lost power due to a severe storm, causing the main actress to merely glance up from her phone with an annoyed look as the wind howled. Suddenly, there was a loud bang as the window of her room broke open due to the wind knocking a branch through it. With a very annoyed look on her face, she quickly got up and closed the window. As she was walking back to her bed, she passed a rather large looking reflective mirror that hung from its old rusted hook. Just as she reached her bed, she heard another noise at her window. Giving a very angry growl, she got up to check the window, but as she walked toward it, it happened. A hand with razor like claws suddenly burst through the glass and grabbed ahold of her hand, which caused everyone in the theater to jump. Some were so startled that they even spilled their popcorn.

"Wow, that got me good." Andrew whispered as he turned to face Doreen, who was currently sitting there with her mouth open and a shocked expression on her face. "Doreen, are you alright?' he asked her.

"Andrew," she said turning to face him. "What was that?" She whispered.

"I don't know," Andrew replied, making sure to keep his voice low. "After all we are only a little over 40 minutes into a two-and-a-half-hour movie, so there is much more to be revealed."

* * *

A few rows back, a thin young woman sat with a muscular, tanned man. "So, what are we doin' here, anyways?" The young man asked in a slight British accent.

"We're here to watch the movie, Chill," the woman replied. "We needed a break, and I have yet to see what people call a horror movie."

The young man nodded. "If you say so, Omeran," he replied. He was glad that they were sitting in the back. They would definitely look like an odd couple: a pale, thin, bald Japanese woman sitting next to a muscular, tanned British man. Chill took a moment to look at his partner. She said little about her past, but that was alright with him. She hadn't jumped yet, but he knew that she was a tough girl, and it would take a lot to scare her.

* * *

At last, the climax had come and gone. The strange mirror's power had been destroyed, and now the main hero could live in peace. "Thank goodness it's almost over," Peter whispered to Andrew, which earned him a confused look.

"Why do you want this to end? It's pretty good," Andrew whispered back.

"I know, but it scared the absolute crap out of me a few times," Peter replied, but before Andrew could respond, the hero walked into her room and looked into the pile of pieces of the mirror. Just as she did, the clawed hand that belonged to the monster she thought that she had destroyed suddenly burst through the glass pile and impaled her, and as she screamed, the hand sucked her back into the mirror shard. The glass all converged to make the mirror whole again, and all that was left of her was a bloody hand print. All of the theater sat in a stunned silence.

Andrew noticed that there was a tugging feeling on his arm. He turned and saw that it was Doreen, who had wrapped her left arm around his right, and she seemed to have done it without noticing. Andrew tapped her lightly on the shoulder, which caused her to jump again in her seat.

"Sorry, Doreen," Andrew said in an apologetic whisper, "but you've kind of wrapped your arm around mine."

"Sorry Andrew." she apologized with an apologetic and embarrassing look on her face, as she unwrapped herself from him.

* * *

Chill looked over at Omeran, and noticed that she had a bit of a startled look on her face, much like the expression he had on his own face. "I certainly did not expect that," Omeran said, her voice too calm for the look on her face.

"Sometimes," Chill replied, "the hero dies in the end." The couple exited the theater room, satisfied with the movie.

After exiting the building, Omeran pulled out her cell-phone, which was ringing. "Hello, Tony," she said flatly.

"What's with the cold welcome?" The man said on the other side of the phone. "Bad movie?"

"I do not do 'hot', Tony," Omeran replied. "I have pictures that I took of our wayward Predator. I will send them to you shortly, as well as pictures of friends of his whom I suspect are actually heroes."

"Someday, you gotta tell me how you manage to do all that you do without getting caught," Chill said to her as she ended the conversation with Tony. Chill was very impressed with her abilities.

"Simple. You find someone else to blame," Omeran said bluntly.

* * *

Finally, after a technical malfunction was taken care of, the credits began and the first credit came up: "Written and Directed by: Joseph Steele", which caused Peter to turn in his seat. "Your dad is a Hollywood Director?" he asked in a stunned silence.

"Yep," Andrew replied.

"That's so cool," Peter replied as the group began exiting the room. "You're the son of a Hollywood director."

Some people were turning in their direction, so Andrew turned to Peter and said, "No spoilers." Peter nodded, knowing what his friend really meant.

Doreen was stunned, and very impressed. "Your dad did a great job," she said to Predator, making sure to keep her voice down.

"Maybe there's hope for you yet," Ava joked.

Andrew smiled. "Maybe," he agreed.

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 is finally here, my loyal friends. This is the chapter where we start combining season 4 of Ultimate Spider-man into the plot. You all know what happened with Spidey during the episode "Hydra Attacks", but I'll show you how the fight inside the academy, and you'll also see how Predator suffers from that brain beam. I thank you for all your patience, and I hope you enjoy. Also what happens with Spidey in the show will mostly take place in the background of my story, unless there are situations where what's happening with him affect the whole Academy. "Hydra Attacks," "Lizards," and "The New Sinister Six" are the best examples. Hope you enjoy it.**

Andrew was sleeping. Say what you will about the man's strength and abilities… he wasn't a very pretty sleeper. Andrew was sprawled across his bunk, mouth wide open in a log-ripping snore, and then Squirrel Girl hit him with a pillow. "Urph!" Andrew muttered, eloquent as always.

"Stop snoring!" Wailed Squirrel Girl. "Some of us are trying to sleep!"

"So am I!" Snapped Andrew. He turned over in bed, with his back to Squirrel Girl. She hit him with the pillow again. "No snoring this time!" She said.

Andrew raised a finger. "Point of fact: You snore, too," he replied

Squirrel Girl's hair stood on end. "I do not!" She protested.

Dagger spoke up. "Yes you do. It sounds like a squirrel, too."

"Well, I AM Squirrel Girl!"

A voice like cracking concrete echoed through the room. "STOP TALKING!" Everyone stopped talking. They didn't want to face Rhino in all his sleep-deprived wrath. To top off the whole mess, the red alert began wailing. As one, Andrew, Squirrel Girl, Dagger and Rhino moaned in disgust.

* * *

"So, what's going on?" asked Cloak. They stood in a conference hall of the SHIELD Academy. A long hologram/touch pad table dominated the room, and a pair of bay windows overlooked Manhattan. The Helicarrier could be seen on the horizon.

Agent Coulson frowned. "We don't know. There have been a couple of garbled transmissions, and then nothing," he replied.

Andrew, now fully suited as Predator, pressed a touch pad key on the tabletop to open a communication link. "Spider-Man? You there?"

There was only a fuzzy squealing noise. Agent Coulson leaned over the table and began keying in commands. "It looks like our communications channels are being jammed," he groaned.

"Uh… guys?" asked Squirrel Girl as she looked out the bay windows. "You should probably come see this."

Everyone looked up and gaped in surprise. Where the Helicarrier once hovered over the horizon was a completely different machine. It hovered silently, a massive, circular machine covered in jet black armor and... "Is that the HYDRA symbol?" asked Iron Fist.

Agent Coulson looked sick. "…Yes, and it appears to be on what was once the Helicarrier," he replied.

Suddenly, a series of explosions appeared along the side of the HYDRA machine. Predator started backing away. He knew what that meant. "Everybody get down!" He shouted as the bombshells hit the building, shaking it to the foundation. Everyone began shouting and running around the room as the room shook. The bay windows shattered, the chairs fell over and the table bounced around the room.

"Everyone! Pull yourselves together!" Yelled Agent Coulson. "Whatever that thing is, it's HYDRA, and it just fired on us. Everyone get out of the building, and get ready to fight." As one, the group of heroes nodded and began to make their way out of the building. Some of them decided to risk moving through the inside of the building, while others simply leaped out of the window, trusting in their skill or super powers to land them safely. "Rhino!" called Coulson. "I'll need a ride down."

Rhino grunted in affirmation and slung Coulson over his shoulder. He then rushed out the opened windows, smashing an even larger opening in the wall as he fell down several stories. No one complained, the thought of being under fire first and foremost on peoples' minds. "Hey, Predator!" Called Squirrel Girl. "Let's go!" Predator nodded, and the two of them followed Rhino and leaped out the window. "Whee!" Squirrel Girl said as she went down. She leaped off the side of the building, skipping from side to side to keep her momentum down until she hit the ground. Predator simply allowed his armor to absorb the brunt of the impact, although it did end up burying him up to his ankles in a petunia bed.

"I spent weeks working on those!" Dagger protested, landing beside him.

"If we're not victorious, there won't be a building for these petunia to hide next to!" Cloak reminded her. Everyone looked up as a pair of Quinjets hovered over them. The Quinjets were colored black and red, with HYDRA symbols on the wings. "Well, great," said Cloak.

The HYDRA Quinjets turned around as they set down, their loading ramps opening to reveal squads of HYDRA soldiers. The HYDRA soldiers immediately started firing down on them. Cloak vanished, using his abilities to appear inside one of the landing Quinjets and behind goons to knock them out of their hovercraft. Dagger did a back-flip to avoid fire while throwing several daggers of light at the goons. One blade flew toward Cloak, but he wrapped around the blade, vanished, and then reappeared behind a goon that was coming in at a high speed. The blade that had been about to hit him flew through the air and clipped the goon's hovercraft, causing him to spiral out of control. The craft hit the ground, exploding. As luck would have it, one of the pieces of wing hit the special plasma cannon in Predator's suit, disabling it. "Oh, crud," Andrew growled, holding back what he really wanted to say, but didn't dare say in front of Squirrel Girl.

Squirrel Girl ran over, pelting the hovercraft with acorns and rocks, to surprising effect. "I believe the phrase is- Oh, crap," she said as a horde of HYDRA goons began flying toward them.

Cloak was mowed down by a wall of lasers, and crashed. He wasn't badly injured, but Predator knew that they had to move, or else things would get really bad. "Run!" Predator shouted, turning and running toward the Academy's door. Cloak beat him to it and opened the door. The ghostlike hero flew into the Academy, followed by Dagger and Squirrel Girl. "Hey, snakes!" Predator shouted, fulfilling the duty of fighter banter. "Follow the shooter!" He added, firing on the hovercraft with his machine guns before ducking into the Academy.

"Snakes?" Cloak asked as the wrecked hovercraft smashed into the entrance door.

"In Greek mythology, the Hydra was a big, many-headed snake," Predator explained. He tried to push the door open, but it was stuck fast. Growling, Predator tried to hit the door open with his shoulder, but nothing happened. "Looks like we're not getting up that way," he said. Suddenly several HYDRA goons entered the room on foot and began opening fire with their weapons. "Get a load of this!" Predator shouted as he retrieved a circular device from a hidden compartment on his armor, which he proceeded to throw at a few of the attacking goons. The disk whirled through the air before exploding into an energy net, which ensnared a few of their foes.

"I don't think that's going to hold them for long!" Dagger shouted as she narrowly dodged a laser shot.

"Wait for it..." Predator said before he finally got the result he had hoped for. Suddenly the net crackled to life as electricity flowed through the net, shocking the trapped agents unconscious.

"Adamantium woven electricity nets, always have at least one in the armor." Predator said proudly as he side stepped a laser blast, and returned fire with his machine gun gauntlet.

"Do you have any more of those, by chance?" Cloak asked as he constantly teleported into enemy lines and took out a goon at a time.

"Unfortunately that's the only one I have on me." Predator apologized as he continued to provide heavy gunfire. The battle waged for about ten more minutes before something appeared in Predators HUD that he never hoped to see in the middle of a fight.

"Low ammunition, and ordnance," his HUD informed him as it showed the number of bullets and special grenades he had left.

"Guys, I'm running low on ammunition," Predator informed his teammates as he finished off another magazine of ammo.

"How much do you have left?" SG yelled as she kicked a HYDRA agent in the gut, resulting in him flying backwards.

Predator checked his numbers, "I got 60 rounds left, and only three special grenades," Predator replied as he delivered a knockout punch to an enemy combatant who got within his reach.

"Then make them count," Dagger said as she flung dagger after dagger of light at the seemingly endless wave of HYDRA agents. Predator was unable to reply due to an enemy soldier suddenly jumping on his back and trying to take him down. His efforts were cut short due to a light dagger striking him in his back, causing him to fall to the ground in a tumbled heap.

"I owe you one, Dagger." Predator replied as he continued to fight. The hordes of HYDRA goons just kept coming, and even Andrew's special grenades couldn't throw them back. The last thing Andrew saw was a sharp punch to the face from a HYDRA goon.

* * *

"Andy, wake up," a voice whispered to Predator as he finally regained consciousness. Predator held his head as he lay there on a hard metal floor. Mustering up what strength he had left, he attempted to rise to his feet, but his knees buckled under him, causing him to lose his balance.

"Whoa, there. I got you," the same voice responded as he was caught mid-fall and hauled to a standing position.

Predator was finally able to see who his rescuer was. "Thanks, SG," Predator said in a pained whisper as he eyed his close friend.

"Don't thank me yet," she said as Andrew tried to take in his soundings. As he looked around, he noticed several details that brought him back to full awareness. One: he was in Times Square, two: He and SG were currently inside a small energy cell, and three: it seemed that every other hero from the academy were in similar cells. "What's going on!" Predator yelled as he banged his fist on the force field that kept him and SG confined. The Hydra agents that where guarding their cell paid him no mind. "I'm talking to you, freak show!" Andrew yelled as he delivered a powerful punch into the shield that was closest to the guard. While the shield easily held, it did result in the guard jumping slightly before turning to face their cell. The guard immediately pulled out a staff that cackled with red electricity and slammed it into the force field, causing its painful shock to zap Predator since his hand was still on the shield.

"Owww," Predator yelled as he jerked back his injured hand. "That stuff hurts. Usually my armor can withstand electricity," Predator said as he shook his injured right hand. SG only nodded silently before a loud crackling noise caught every hero's attention. The jumbo screen that resided above their cells suddenly turned on to reveal an ugly face, one that Predator didn't recognize.

"Citizens of New York City," the man began with a German accent.

"Who's the face that only a mother could love?" Predator asked SG as she also eyed their captor.

"Arnim Zola!" SG replied with unusual malice present in her normally chipper voice.

"Who?" Was Predators response as he continued to eye Zola, as he continued to give some long winded speech.

"Long story short, he captured all of us a few months back, and created clones of us, while we were left trapped inside his mind, I think," she said as she clenched a fist. "Spidey was able to defeat him and pull us out. Needless to say, we don't like him," She finished as she balled up her other hand into another fist.

"I'll take your word for it," Predator replied as he continued to eye his captor.

"Now you will see these heroes bow and hail HYDRA!" Zola finished as he turned his full attention onto his captors.

"How will he do that?" Predator said in a mocking whisper, before his answer came a few seconds later. A beam of glowing red light struck the cage and suddenly Andrew was forced unto both knees, clutching his head in agony as horrible thoughts filled his head. He was barely able to look to his right and see that SG was also on her knees with her arms folded over her head, and judging from other moans, it was safe to assume that the other heroes were having similar problems.

"Hey, what are you doing to them!?" a familiar voice shouted, that shout was met with the same voice shouting as his cell was shocked.

"Warning, unconsciousness unavoidable," the voice of Predator's computer informed him as his HUD showed his vitals. Andrew could feel blackness seeping into his vision as he continued to try and stay awake.

"Stay with me, Andy," a painful whisper said to Predator as the cell's force field dissipated around them.

"What's going on?!" Zola shouted.

"Eh, nothing much. Just freeing your prisoners," Spider-Man replied. Only a few moments afterward, all the heroes were freed, and they proceeded to beat up the HYDRA goons who imprisoned them.

"Spider-Man!" Squirrel Girl called.

Spider-Man swung over, and noticed that Andrew was out. "I'll get him to the Academy hospital," he said.

"No," Rhino said in disagreement. "You go fight Computer Face. I'll bet Predator to the hospital." Spider-Man nodded, putting Andrew on a stretcher for Rhino to carry back to the Academy.

* * *

-Meanwhile-

Only a short distance away, having been undetected by the HYDRA goons, two people, a man and a woman, stood atop a building, observing the events. "The bloke's out like a light," the man said. "We should strike now while we have the chance, Omeran!"

"You know that this is not a good time, Chill," Omeran replied, not taking her eyes off the scene some distance away. "I may not have your binoculars, but I know that there are too many witnesses. We would be spotted immediately."

"Still," Chill protested. "You know well what he did to Aegis!"

Omeran didn't move. "Our opportunity will come, Chill," she replied, "but not now."

* * *

-Meanwhile-

Spider-Man, Agent Venom, and Iron Spider piloted the Spiderjet toward the monstrous HYDRA base. Suddenly, a missile was fired from the base, homing in on them. Spider-Man flew to the right, and the missile flew to the right, turning to the left when the Spiderjet flew to the left. "What's up with this thing?" Spider-Man asked. "I didn't know we were playing Follow The Leader."

"It's locked onto our engines," Iron Spider replied.

"Then let's destroy it!" Agent Venom said. Everyone looked at him, and he said, "the missile, not the engines."

"I know just the perfect time," Iron Spider replied. "Spider-Man, fly straight toward the HYDRA base." Spider-Man flew toward the HYDRA base, trusting that Amadeus had a plan, and he did. Right when the missile was almost on them, a shot directed by Iron Spider destroyed the missile.

"Excellent plan," Agent Venom said as the Spiderjet grabbed onto the underside of the HYDRA base. "Now they think we've been disintegrated."

"Perfect," Spider-Man said as he exited the Spiderjet, clinging to the HYDRA base. "Let's get our disintegrated selves aboard the ugliest boat in the world."

The three spider heroes made their way into the ship by way of an air duct. As Spider-Man and Agent Venom crawled through the duct, they heard a small beep behind them. "I hacked the motion sensors," Iron Spider said smugly. "We can take the air ducts straight to the control room, but what do we do when we get there?"

Agent Venom shrugged. "I don't know. Gangnam Style?" He asked.

Iron Spider rolled his eyes, but Spider-Man chuckled. "Distract them somehow," he said. "I've got an idea."

"Then let's get to it," Agent Venom replied, dropping down into the control room.

"WHAT?!" A scratchy voice shouted as Iron Spider and Spider-Man descended to the floor. "You are supposed to be dead!"

"Oh, really?" Agent Venom asked. "Let's see… No, that won't work… I've got football that day… Nope. Sorry, Zola. I don't have time to be dead."

"You fools! You have come to your doom. I AM HYDRA Island!" Zola shouted gleefully as a row of guns appeared on the far wall.

Agent Venom and Iron Spider dodged the shots, Agent Venom managing to mix Gangnam Style dance moves into the dodging, infuriating Zola, despite the fact that the crazed villain had no idea what Gangnam Style was. Taking advantage of the distractions, Spiderman began typing instructions into the GPS system and engines. "I think the rings of Saturn will be good," he said out loud.

There was a rumbling as the HYDRA Island began turning around, the engines charging up. "What are you doing, Spider-Man?" Zola demanded.

"You've just won a free trip to see the stars," Spider-Man quipped. "See ya, 8-bit Face," he added as he, Iron Spider, and Agent Venom made their exit. The three heroes managed to find the Spiderjet on the underside of HYDRA Island, and they hastily made their exit as the ship flew through the air, on its way to outer space. A few minutes later, Spider-Man landed the Spiderjet at the Academy. He ran into the Academy, seeing almost everyone on their feet. "What's up?" He asked Andrew, who was sitting down.

"That HYDRA beam thing gave me a headache," Andrew replied as he drank some water. "I hate that thing. So, is that HYDRA ship gone?"

"Yep," Spider-Man replied. "It should be on its way to Saturn right about now."

Andrew nodded. "At least that thing's gone," he said.

* * *

-Meanwhile-

"I can't believe it," Chill said, who was less than happy. "We had him, but he got away."

"It was too risky," Omeran replied. "If we so much as sneezed there, HYDRA would have been on us almost immediately. As I said earlier, Chill, our chance will come, when we won't have S.H.I.E.L.D. or HYDRA to worry about…"

 **To be continued…**

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	15. Chapter 15

**Alright my friends, I'm back with another chapter. I just want to thank my Beta, Darkest Nightmare's Dread for his help. He's an amazing beta, and you should really check him out. I'm happy to have him on my team for the long haul, and trust me, there is a lot of work to do with Predator. Also, I really want you guys to please tell me who you think the villain is. I really want to hear back from my loyal readers. Can you please tell me? Once again I hope you guys like this chapter.**

"How's he doing?' Ava asked Dr. Connors as she observed Andrew sitting on his bed in the medical ward.

"He's not very happy," Dr. Connors began as he looked up from a clipboard that had Andrew's vitals on it, "but I think he knows I'm keeping him here for good reasons."

"What are those reasons exactly?" Ava asked, needing a breath of fresh air "I was not around when the 'incident took place."

"Where should I get started?" The Doctor asked as he turned to face her.

"Please start from where you think this started, and what caused it," Ava requested.

Doc Connors nodded. "Apparently, a few hours after the attack from HYDRA, another Academy student reported that Andrew was having unusual-," he paused as he tried to think of a good term for it.

"Unusual what?" Ava pressed.

"-Behavior," the doctor finished cautiously.

Ava turned to look at him with a frown. "Who reported the unusual behavior?" she pressed.

"It was Iron Spider and Squirrel Girl who brought this matter to my attention," the doctor informed her as he walked over to an electronic monitor and pressed a small button. The monitor emitted a complete holographic projection of Andrew, including his vital organs.

"I was great in science in all," Ava said as she eyed the holographic projection, "but what am I supposed to be looking at?" She asked as she tried to figure out what the doctor wanted her to see.

"That scan was taken upon Andrews arrival at the Academy about a month ago. Notice how everything is in order, and notice the blue color around his brain," Connors pointed out as he walked closer to the display in order to point out what he was talking about.

"Alright." Ava said as she looked it up and down, "but that doesn't answer my question as to what I'm supposed to be looking for or at." she said as she crossed her arms for extra emphasis.

"This scan," Connors began as he pushed another button which brought up another projection, but this one had a very noticeable difference. "Notice how his brain is now-"

"Red," Ava finished for him.

"Precisely," Connors said as he walked back over to her. "It appears that whatever that brain beam did to him is affecting Andrew more than it did the others. You were also hit by it, but you feel any different?" Connors asked her, which caused Ava to think for a minute. In her honest opinion, she felt completely fine.

"I feel totally normal, Dr. Connors," Ava answered him, attempting to put a smile on her face for the extra emphasis. It came out as more like a lemon-sucking grimace.

"I thought so, as it seems you and everyone is fine, except for Andrew," Connors said as he drew her attention to the hologram once more. "The incident I called you for is that about two hours ago, Predator and Iron Spider where fighting in a training exercise, and Predator acted a little more aggressive than usual," he said as he pulled up a security tape.

Ava was surprised by what she saw. Predator was running in, swinging like an angry person who had too much to drink. Iron Spider was dodging left and right, trying to avoid the wildly swinging fists. "Hold still, bug!" Andrew shouted.

Iron Spider ignored him, dodging the strikes. "Calm down, Predator!" He shouted.

"I am no calm!" Predator shouted as he backed away to charge in for another slugging attempt. Iron Spider dodged the attack and hit Andrew in the back of the head. The angry hero stumbled forward, and stopped. He had been angry just a moment before, but now he seemed confused. "What happened?" He asked.

"You tried to Hulk Smash me. That's what happened," Iron Spider replied.

Andrew shook his head. "It's gotta be that HYDRA beam," he said. "I haven't felt right since getting hit by that thing, and I hate that!"

"Hey. Calm down," Iron Spider said, raising his hands. "We'll have Doc Connors look at you. Maybe he'll be able to help you."

"Yeah. You're right," Predator replied as the two armored heroes walked out of the training room.

"That's not all," Doc Connors said to Ava. "I found this," he added, pointing to the original holographic display of Andrew. He highlighted an area on the neck area of Andrew's armor. "See anything strange there?" He asked.

Ava leaned toward the display. She saw nothing at first, but then she saw something. "What is that?" She asked.

"I don't know," Doc Connors admitted. "It's too scratched to make out clearly, but if I were to guess, it looks kinda like a snake's head. I'm guessing that Andrew's got some secrets that he hasn't told us about. I don't have any proof, though. I need more information before I can ask any questions. I'll have to report my findings to Director Fury. He'll be able to ask Predator the questions needed."

Ava nodded. "Thank goodness it isn't the HYDRA symbol, though," she noted.

"I agree," Doc Connors replied, "but at least if he was former HYDRA, we'd be able to get valuable intel from him." Ava nodded, and left the room, wondering what that symbol was, and what skeletons Andrew had in his closet, so to speak. She also wondered why the beam had affected him so greatly, and why Agent Venom and Iron Spider weren't affected at all.

* * *

-Meanwhile-

"There are no new messages," the cellphone said. Omeran put the device back in her pocket, and she looked at her watch. It read 5:30 PM. She decided to visit her favorite club. The beer was good, and people minded their own business there, which the pale woman enjoyed. She didn't like people prying into her business.

The streets were clogged with people trying to get wherever it was they were trying to go, and the recent HYDRA incident had further slowed traffic down to half the snail's crawl it usually was. Omeran didn't care, though. She walked through a couple alleys, knowing a shortcut to the club. Someone came up behind her, knife in his hand. "Give me your money," the mugger growled, slowly waving the knife around.

"No," Omeran deadpanned. "I have no reason to give you money."

"Oh, really?" The mugger asked, waving the knife in Omeran's face.

The pale woman's eyes narrowed. "Get that knife out of my face, or you will regret it," she said. The mugger didn't move, so Omeran turned away. "I do not have time for this," she said.

"Don't you turn your back on me!" The mugger yelled. Before he could move, his knife was kicked out of his hand. "Whuh?" The mugger asked, but before he could get anything else out, the same foot slammed into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"I told you. I do not have time for this," Omeran said coldly before walking out of the alley.

A policeman walked to the entrance of the alleyway. "Is everything alright, ma'am?" He asked.

Omeran ran to him, panting heavily. "Officer, help me! That man just tried to mug me!" She said, sounding distressed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

The officer gasped, and glared at the mugger. "This wouldn't be the first time we've had to deal with him," he said, walking over to the mugger. "Alright, you. Time to go back to the cooler."

Omeran ran away, panting heavily. As soon as she was out of sight of the officer, she began walking normally, her breathing settling down to a normal pace. "Too easy," she said as she brushed the tears away, allowing a small smile to appear on her face. She didn't enjoy interacting with police too much, but she could use the fact that she looked like a cancer survivor to her advantage.

Within a few minutes, Omeran walked into the club that was her destination. "So, the usual?" The bartender asked, recognizing Omeran by her bald head.

Omeran nodded, and she quickly got a Scotch. She wasn't particularly picky as so what her alcohol was, considering whatever it was, she never got drunk. She wasn't a fan of sake, though. It brought back some poor memories for her, memories she would rather forget. Halfway through her cup of Scotch, her phone rang. She knew who it was because only one person had her number. "What is it, Tony?" She asked in her usual flat tone.

"Chill has been given the green light to begin his job," Tony replied. "You are to give him assistance if he needs it."

Omeran nodded. "I see," she said neutrally. "You know where to find me," she added, hanging up. She looked at the bartender, who was looking at her with a confused look. "My boss," she said simply. "He may need my help."

The bartender nodded. "Keep out of trouble, young lady," he said.

Omeran nodded, and walked out of the club after paying for and finishing the Scotch. She had no intention of staying out of trouble. _"It always finds me,"_ she thought, walking back to her apartment.

To be continued…

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm back with the third chapter in such a short amount of time. I got a full head of steam, and I'm going to keep on chugging forward. This is the second chapter to focus on an episode. Remember I said that "HYDRA Attacks," "Lizards," and "The New Sinister Six" are episodes where the prime examples of chapters that what happens to Spidey affects the whole academy, so now we will see what happens during the Lizard outbreak.**

 **I decided not to include chapters based on the "Iron Vulture" and "Miles from Home" episode just because I couldn't see how to include Predator. I do apologize, and hope you guys understand why I did not include them. Hope you guys like this one. Also, I want to address something. The heroes call each other by their real names when they are around each other, but in combat, they call each other by their hero names. The don't want their real names floating around for every other villain to know.**

A lot had happened to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, especially in the amount of time Andrew had been there. First HYDRA had attacked them and imprisoned them, and because of that, Andrew was still seeing Dr. Connors, even though he had insisted that the anger side effects of the Brain Beam had worn off. After that, Spidey had introduced them to a new ally, a teenager wearing red and black Spider suit named Scarlet Spider, whom Predator knew very little about. Most recently, the Academy had welcomed in another person wearing a Spidey suit. This time, it was a thirteen-year-old Spider-Man from an alternate dimension. Honestly, just thinking about it gave Andrew a massive headache. "Head up, Predator!" Power Man shouted at Predator as he narrowly dodged an incoming projectile, courtesy of a SHIELD training robot.

"Thanks, Power Man. Guess I just got lost in thought for a split second," Predator said as he slashed a robot that just happened to get too close to where he was standing.

"A battle is no place to lose your focus. You must block out all distractions if you are to prevail!" Iron Fist said to Predator as he continued to fight several killer robots, as well.

"Thanks for the lesson, coach," Predator said as he sliced a robot in two with his plasma cannon. Another thing that had been happening recently for Andrew is that Iron Fist had volunteered to teach Predator some fighting moves, as well as some meditation lessons in order to find his inner peace, or something like that. Turning to his right, he noticed that a robot was getting ready to fire at SG's blind spot, and Predator would have none of that. He quickly fired a grappling hook from his right gauntlet that zipped with lightning precision and snagged the robot in the back of its head. "SG, on your right!" Predator yelled at his friend as he gave a hard tug, which made the robot lose its footing for a few seconds.

Those few seconds were enough time for SG to turn and deliver a kick to the robot's head, immediately separating its head from said body. "Thanks, Predator," SG said as she continued to fight other opponents.

"Just remember to watch your blind spot, just as we practiced," he instructed, which she replied by giving a quick thumbs-up. There was one thing that Predator really enjoyed doing at S.H.I.E.L.D., and that was doing private matches against SG. The two of them had decided that since the two of them had different fighting styles, they would fight against each other in private, and teach each other the other's moves. Needless to say, she proved to be a fast learner, and had beaten him multiple times. It made him smile under his armor as he sliced another robot in half.

"You know, Predator, we barely know anything about you personally," a voice said, close enough that only Predator could hear. Turning to his right, he saw that Spidey had swung down and landed to his right, and the two now stood back to back against five robots.

"I don't like talking about myself too much," Predator replied. "Incoming, on your right!"

Spider-Man dodged the robot, and swung it into another robot, destroying both. "Thanks for the tip," he said. "You know, I'm not much for talking about myself, either, but the more we know about each other, the more certain we can be that we're not a mole."

Predator paused for a moment. Vulture had noted previously that there was a mole within the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy. "And you think that I could be a mole," he said bluntly.

Spider-Man raised his hands in surrender, backing away from Predator. "Hey, everyone's a suspect, here," he said, webbing a robot behind Predator, which the armored hero punched in the head, destroying it, "even me."

Predator shrugged, throwing the remaining robots to Spider-Man, who destroyed one and ping-ponged the other to Predator, who punched it to bit. "Just as long as I'm not the only one who's suspected," he said.

"Good job, everybody. You all deserve a break," Spidey congratulated as the training exercise came to an end.

"Thank God," Andrew said with a yawn as he and all the other student's left the training room, each going their own separate ways.

Suddenly, something tapped Andrew's shoulder, causing his Marine training to kick in, causing him to quickly spin around and take up a fighting stance. He eyed the person who had tapped his shoulder. "Sorry, Andy. I didn't mean to startle you," SG apologized with a shy smile.

"It's no problem, Doreen," Predator said as he pressed the hidden button that retracted his helmet, letting the air conditioner hit his face, red from the intense workout.

"I was wondering if we could have an extra practice day this week, Andy," Doreen said with a smile on her face.

"Sure thing," Andrew said with a smile before pulling up a holographic calendar from the watch on his left gauntlet. "Which day do you want? I can mark the date on the calendar?"

Before Doreen could reply, Andrew's helmet reformed on its own, catching Andrew and Doreen off guard. "Andy, what happened?" Doreen asked, just as confused as he was.

"I don't know, but I'm going to run a quick system check to see if maybe there was a glitch in my armors security. Hold on a sec," he said as he began to bring up some info on his HUD.

Before he could check the system, the Predator armor AI answered his question for him. "Warning, Bio-Hazard in close proximity. Bio-Hazard defense and combat systems are operational," the suit's AI informed him as the HUD, which was normally blue, turned quickly to a dark green, indicating a nearby Biological threat. Andrew could also feel every crack and crevice in his armor seal up with a small mechanical hiss.

"Andy, what's going on?" Doreen asked as she observed the suit seal up.

"Doreen, the suit's Bio-Hazard function has been activated, and it only activates if the Armor detects a nearby threat. Brace for combat. I think we got trouble," Andrew informed her has he began reading what very little information his HUD would show him.

Doreen simply nodded and took a quick glance around the desolated hallway in which they currently stood. "What's our plan of action?" Doreen asked as the two of them cautiously began walking down the hall.

"I don't know. My armor doesn't know enough information to calculate a battle plan. Hopefully, it's nothing dangerous-...:" Andrew didn't get a chance to finish his sentence due to a roar suddenly breaking the silence of the hallway.

"What was that!?" Doreen whispered as she took up a fighting stance that allowed her quick mobility.

"I have no idea, but I know it wasn't Katy Perry who made that roar." Andrew said with a small laugh. Doreen's response was to give a look of "seriously." "Sorry. I make bad jokes when I'm nervous," Andrew said as he inched closer to the sound of where the roar emanated.

"You know I would laugh normally, but not at a time like this," Doreen whispered as she followed close behind Andrew, guarding their six. Suddenly, they both heard a loud scraping noise from the ceiling above them, causing them to both quickly look up. They were meet by a rather large looking creature lunging off the roof and jumping unto Andrew, causing them to both fall to the ground.

"SG, get it off!" Predator yelled as he tried to keep its snapping reptilian jaw from latching onto his throat. SG quickly recovered from her shock and immediately wrapped her hands around the creature's throat in an attempt to both choke it out, and more importunately, to get it off Andrew.

"I got it. Hold on!" SG said as she tightened her grip around its throat, causing it to remove its left hand from Andrew's shoulder, using it to slash Doreen in her right shoulder and arm with its razor sharp claws. Doreen gave a small yell of pain as her injury caused her to loosen her grip, and that's when the beast took its advantage. It quickly latched around SG's waist with its long scaly tail, and flung her across the hall, where she landed in a crumpled heap. It then returned its attention to Predator, who was still struggling to get to his feet. Suddenly, a long sticky web attached itself to the back of the beast's head, causing it to roar and turn its attention to its attacker, also taking its left hand off Predator's right shoulder.

"Got you!" Predator yelled as he took advantage of the beast ceasing its attempt to bite his throat. He quickly delivered a punishing right hook to the back of the beast's turned head, resulting in it flying off Predator, and the webbing attached to its head caused the beast to be flung around to where it was thrown into a closed door, resulting in the beast easily breaking down the closed door and flying inside, where it landed in a crumpled heap.

Predator could feel his heart racing incredibly fast as he quickly and shakily got up to eye is rescuer. "Looks like you needed some help." Spider-Man said as he rushed over to evaluate Andrew. "Are you okay? Did it bite you!?" Spidey asked frantically as looked up and down Andrew's body for injuries.

"I'm fine. The armor activated an emergency Bio-Hazard function that sealed up every crack when it sensed whatever that thing was," Predator replied as he quickly rushed over to where SG was still laying in a crumbled heap.

"Is she OK?" Spidey asked quickly as he also ran over to her.

"She's fine, and no, she hasn't been bitten, either," Predator said as he tried to review his knocked out friend. Something occurred to him. "Wait. Why are you asking me if we have been bit? Is there something I should know?" Predator asked his leader as he continued to try and review SG.

"Yea. That was a Lizard," Spidey began before Predator cut him off.

"What kind of lizard is almost six feet and had teeth like a shark?" Andrew asked frantically.

"It's not a lizard. It's The Lizard, a villain, but that's not the point," Spider-Man replied. "These lizards are caused by them biting their victims, thus spreading the virus into our body. The change happens almost instantly. For all we know, this lizard might have just been a S.H.I.E.L.D. technician a few minutes ago, but we know he's been mutated," Spidey informed Predator, who was now trying to shake SG awake.

"Screw it," Predator spat out as he pressed a button on his left gauntlet. His grappling hoop launching system opened up to reveal his two hooks. "She's unconscious, and I can't wake her by just shaking her. Due to how much danger she is in just lying here in a Lizard outbreak, I got to wake her up this way," Predator said as he latched on book grappling hooks unto her hands. Predator then triggered the Tasers.

"Eeeeeeh!" SG yelled as she woke up instantly and tried swinging at Andrew, who caught her arm and held it in place.

"Doreen, it's me, Andrew." Predator said as he held her arm in place.

"Andrew," she said as she stopped trying to swing at Andrew, "What happened? All I remember is being flung at the wall, and then nothing," she said as she clutched her injured left arm.

"You're alright. I had to Tase you with low voltage to shock you awake. You're fine, but we got to move," Predator said as he offered her a hand, which she took, as he quickly helped her to her feet. "I got some bandages in my armor. Let me dress that slash wound," Predator instructed to SG as he pulled out some bandages from a hidden compartment in his armor and began to quickly dress her wound. "Spidey, what's the plan?" Predator asked their leader, not taking his eyes off his work dressing SG's wound.

"There is a cure for the virus. I'm going to try and get it, and somehow try to spread it throughout the Academy before we are all turned into lizards. I suggest you and SG try and get somewhere easily defendable and hunker down," he instructed them as he ran off in another direction.

Predator growled softly. He didn't like the idea of hiding and waiting for the lizards to hunt him down, but he couldn't leave SG alone. "SG, you've been at the Academy for longer than me. Do you know anywhere that's easily defendable?" Predator asked as he finished bandaging SG's wound.

"I think our best option would be to head to the prison area. It's easily defendable, and there is only one door leading into the area." SG said as she quickly began running in the direction of their destination.

"I'll follow you anywhere, SG," Predator yelled as he quickly ran after her.

Upon arriving at the prison area, both Predator and SG took up their defensive positions. They could hear chaos all around them, as well as all around the Academy. "SG, we've got to hold them off till Spidey somehow finds a way to spread the cure. That, or we go down fighting," Predator said as he eyed the door and prepared his armor for an incoming attack.

"Agreed," was SG's simple response as a loud roar caught their attention, and that roar was followed by several more.

"Here they come," Andrew said as he aimed his sub-machine gun gauntlet, armed with stun bullets, at the open door. Before SG could answer, three lizards rushed into the room and lunged at the two heroes. The first was met with multiple stun bullets striking it in its chest, causing it to pass out and fall to the ground. SG kicked the second in the gut, following up with a punch right to its face, sending it flying. They both hit the third one at the same time. This game went on for several minutes before a familiar scratching noise caught Andrews attention, causing him to jerk his sub-machine up towards the roof. He quickly realized that nothing was there. Suddenly, something caught Predator's eye that neither him nor SG had noticed. "We forgot about the air vent on the floor!" Predator yelled as he turned his gun to face them, but he was quickly met with the vent being flung off its hinges and bouncing of his chest. Suddenly, about 15 lizards crawled through the vent, but they weren't exactly lizards. They were very tiny and looked like…

"My squirrels!" SG yelled as she noticed them.

"The lizard virus must have affected them, too. This complicates things." Predator said as he eyed their new problem.

"No kidding," SG replied. "I don't think I can talk to them like this," she said, not noticing a lizard-squirrel running toward her.

"SG, look out!" Predator yelled. Before Squirrel Girl could turn, the lizard-squirrel ran forward and bit her on the ankle. Squirrel Girl immediately crumbled to the ground, shuddering as her nails elongated into claws, her jaw extending forward, and her tail becoming dry and scaly. "Oh, crap," Predator muttered as the lizard-ed Squirrel Girl stood up.

"…Run…" the mutant before him said before she ran toward him. Predator attempted to shoot her with his submachine gun, but the lizard-ed Squirrel Girl ducked under the gauntlet and shoved him to the ground.

"Get off me!" Predator said as he tried to push his now lizard-ed friend off him. The lizard snapped at him, trying to sink her teeth into her wrist. The armor held, and Predator was stuck with a dilemma. He needed to get the lizard off of him, but underneath all of that was Squirrel Girl, his friend. He didn't want to hurt her. Suddenly, something occurred to him: his grappling hook system. Activating it, he slapped the lizard in the arm, embedding the hooks. He activated the Tasers, and the lizard responded by unleashing a screeching noise as it jumped off him, standing on shaky legs. Predator punched her in the snout, knocking it out. "Sorry, SG," he said as he ran out of the room, avoiding the lizard-squirrels. He needed to find another room to hide in. Suddenly, there was a hiss of gas. A bluish vapor came from the ceiling vent of the hall floor. "What is that?" He wondered out loud.

"The cure," a familiar voice said. Predator looked up to see Spider-Man hanging from the ceiling.

"Do you ever get dizzy doing that?" Predator asked.

"Nope," Spiderman said, walking into the prison area. There, he and Predator saw the lizards de-mutating, revealing two engineers, a medical officer, Squirrel Girl, and her squirrels. "Doc Ock got away," Spider-Man told Predator. "Rhino broke him out. Well, at least we know you're not the mole," he added.

"Did you suspect me?" Predator asked as he picked up the unconscious Squirrel Girl.

"Never," the web-headed hero replied, picking up the medical and engineering officers. "We'd better get these guys and girls to the medical center."

"Let me take care of that," Power Man said, walking over and taking the four unconscious people from Predator and Spider-Man.

"Glad to see you're okay. Did you avoid getting infected?" Predator asked.

"Didn't need to," Power Man replied. "Nothing's getting through this skin," he added as he walked down the hallway.

"Let's hope there aren't any aftereffects," Predator said.

"I don't think so," Spider-Man replied. "Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Doc Connors has been turned into the Lizard. Still, he always needs an injection of the Lizard agent in order to transform, so I think everyone will be okay."

"I hope so, too," Predator replied. "I hope so, too…"

 **To be continued…**

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	17. Chapter 17

"It was weeeird being a lizard," rambled Squirrel Girl.

"Hmm," Predator said, doing his best to tune her out. He was busy trying to replace the carbon-weave fabric that supported the plates of armor on his suit.

"You're even more sensitive to temperature than when you're a squirrel, and I should know..."

"Hmmm." Holes fit onto the studs, armor plate fitted over that, screws go in there and there...

"Done," Predator said.

"Huh?" asked Squirrel Girl.

Predator triumphantly held up his fixed gauntlet. "I finished fixing my armor." With that, he slid the gauntlet up his unarmored arm, listening with satisfaction as the elbow joint of his armor locked onto the gauntlet and clicked in place around it.

"Good!" chirped Squirrel Girl. She looked away, suddenly sheepish. "Ah... sorry about that, by the way."

Predator flexed his arm, making sure the gauntlet was working properly. "Don't be. That was all on the crazy lizard stuff," he replied.

Squirrel Girl perked up again. "Thanks! Oh, did I tell you how weird it was, being a lizard?"

Predator sighed. "Yes," he replied, hoping the hyperactive hero wouldn't say it again.

"Oh, okay. I think I'm going to go to the cafeteria. They're serving pecan pie, and I need to get my nut intake back up," Squirrel Girl grinned.

Predator gave her a measuring look. "Are you sure you need more sugar in your system?"

Squirrel Girl continued to grin. "Okay, then. Bring me a slice, would you?" Predator asked as she left the room.

"Sure thing!" She replied happily.

* * *

Squirrel Girl didn't notice as ice crept along the ceiling. She did notice, however, as a series of great icicles dropped down from the ceiling and blocked the hallway ahead of her. She turned around to see the hallway behind her sealed off with ice… and a figure standing in front of it.

The person wore a suit of low-level power armor, not to the degree of Iron Man or Predator's armor, but enough to increase strength and durability. The figure's face was hidden behind a blank visor-face-mask and breathing apparatus. "Hey!" Squirrel Girl said. "What's all this about? Who are you?" The figure thrust a hand forwards, and a barrage of icicles blasted towards her. Squirrel Girl leaped up to avoid the icicles and bounced off of the ceiling. "What gives, man?" she asked as she landed in front of the masked figure. "There's no reason to go around attacking people!"

The figure responded by forming a chunk of spiked ice around its left hand and swinging at her.

"Whoa!" Squirrel Girl yelped, ducking under the blow before backing off and raising her fists. "Alright then, mister! Prepare to fear the squirrel!" She leaped to the side and bounced off the wall, coming in with a sweeping kick at her attacker from an angle.

The figure simply blasted the chunk of ice off of its left hand at Squirrel Girl like a cannonball. She was forced to abandon her attack and bring up her arms to block the attack. The ice chunk reversed her momentum, shooting her back towards the wall, but Squirrel Girl got her feet behind her and leaped off it to the ground, rolling to a stop.

Squirrel Girl growled in frustration, and then she turned and raced back towards her opponent, dodging and weaving along the floor. The stranger responded by blasting a barrage of icicles at her again, but Squirrel Girl was ready this time. She ducked and wove around them before leaping forwards and giving her attacker in the face that Captain Falcon would've been proud of.

The attacker was forced back several feet before it brought up its hands to force Squirrel Girl off, but she leaped back, using its chest as a springboard. The figure was slammed to the ground, and Squirrel Girl set down lightly before it. "Alright, look!" said Squirrel Girl. "You can't just go around attacking people for no reason at all! What's your beef with me?" Instead of responding, the figure rolled forwards into a kneeling position, and took a deep breath. When it exhaled, the air steamed as the temperature of the sealed off corridor lowered. Ice crystals began forming along the walls, and Squirrel Girl shivered as her breath began appearing as puffs of white. "H-huh?"

The attacker stood, obviously satisfied. "Don't like the cold?" It said in a man's voice with a slight British accent. Squirrel Girl took a step back, trying to fight off the sluggishness so natural to a squirrel in the cold. "Too bad..."

* * *

"Hey, has anyone seen Squirrel Girl?" Power Man asked.

Cloak looked up from his cafeteria lunch. "Why? Do you want to see her disappointment when she realizes how bad the pecan pie is?" He asked.

Power Man grinned sheepishly. "Well that's part of it... But really, whenever the cafeteria serves anything with nuts in it, she's here five minutes before the meal starts. Now here we are, and there's no crazy squirrels running everywhere," he noted.

Iron Fist looked up from his lunch as well. "This is true. I last saw her with Predator. Perhaps we should call them and see if something has happened," he suggested.

Dagger held up her wrist communicator. "I'll call them," She clicked the communicator on. "Predator? Squirrel Girl? Lunch has already started, and there's no sign of a mad squirrel army. Is something wrong?"

Predator's voice came back over the communicator. " _Not that I know of. Squirrel Girl left some time ago for the cafeteria_."

Cloak leaned forwards, suddenly suspicious. "I think something's up. Everybody and their uncle has invaded this place at some time or another. Where did Squirrel Girl leave from?"

" _We were both in the dorms_."

Cloak stood. "Alright then. Come on, Dagger, we're going to check the hallways between here and the dormitories," he said.

"Sounds good," Power Man replied as he and Iron Fist also stood up, "We will check the other hallways on the other side of the academy. Radio in if you spot anything," Power Man instructed as he and Iron Fist quickly left the cafeteria, and Cloak and Dagger quickly followed suit.

* * *

"Ice?' Cloak asked as he and Dagger approached a pair of double doors.

"Yea, it seems like ice to me, and trust me, growing up in Ohio, I saw tons of ice," Dagger said as she walked forward and tried to pry open the frozen double doors. However, her strength alone barely caused the doors to budge.

"I'm going to call Power Man and Iron Fist. Hopefully, they will be able to pry the doors open," Dagger said as she pulled up her wrist communicator.

"Why don't I just teleport through and find out what's going on?" Cloak asked as he continued to eye the door.

"Cloak, we have no idea what's on the other side of those doors. You could teleport right into an ambush, and I would have no way of knowing. Let's just play it safe and call in some tame muscle," she said, which Cloak met with an approving nod. "Power Man, we could use some muscle trying to open a pair of doors that are frozen shut. Please come to the southwest corridor," Dagger radioed.

" _Come again. Dagger, did you just say 'frozen shut?_ '" Power Man questioned.

"You heard right, the doors are frozen shut and we need help opening them."

" _We'll be there as quickly as possible. ETA is eight minutes_ ," Power Man said before breaking off the conversation. The conversation had barely ended before the doors suddenly shook violently, causing some mini icicles to fall from their hanging position. Cloak and Dagger didn't exchange a single word. They instead took up battle stances, Cloak hovering off to the side, ready to strike, while Dagger lit up a light dagger in both her hands.

Suddenly the doors gave in and a very familiar teammate came flying through the door. "I got you, SG!" Cloak shouted as he quickly teleported to her and wrapped her into his cloak, and then teleported her safely unto the ground, where both he and Dagger could check her out. What they saw made both of them cringe. SG's skin was a slight bluish color, and it wasn't from bruises. It was a symptom of mild frostbite.

"SG, what happened!?" Dagger asked her injured teammate as she tried to think of something to do that could help SG.

"So-so... cold…" SG said in a barely audible whisper as her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Dagger immediately activated her wrist communicator and dialed Power Man. "Power Man, Squirrel Girl is down and badly injured, I need you right-" She never got to finish her sentence due to an icicle shooting through the now open door and hitting her communicator, effectively destroying it. Cloak and Dagger turned their attention to the open doorway, which was currently spewing an icy mist. A figure casually walked through the mist and walked towards them. "Stop right there!" Dagger ordered as she lit up a dagger in her right hand and took aim at the intruder.

The intruder simply raised both his hands in the air in an apparent act of surrender. However, neither Cloak nor Dagger where prepared for what happened next. A whirling torrent of ice formed instantaneously from his raised hand, slamming Cloak and Dagger with sharp ice. The ice barrage forced Dagger away from SG, but Cloak simply teleported safely away. "You ever been teleported into a jail cell?" Cloak asked the intruder as he continued to launch icicle after icicle at Cloak, with no results.

"Can't say I have," the intruder replied with a slight British accent.

"Well, then. Consider today your lucky day," Cloak said as he wrapped up the intruder with his cloak and prepared to teleport him into a jail cell, but the intruder had been waiting for this. As soon as Cloak attempted to wrap him up, the Intruder suddenly started spewing a torrent of ice at the ghost-like super hero, which froze Cloak instantly.

"Cloak!" Dagger shouted as she fired a dagger at her opponent. The dagger hit the intruder in his left arm and forced him backwards.

"Nice shot," the intruder said as he regained his footing. "My ice only froze your friend. He should thaw out soon, but you won't be awake to see it," he said as he fired a similar torrent of ice at Dagger, but she was ready.

Dagger sidestepped the attack and opened up her right hand, to reveal five light daggers inside it, which she proceeded to fling at her opponent. "Ow," he said as the light daggers embedded themselves into his chest, resulting in a crimson red liquid seeping from the inside of his armor, a liquid Dagger recognized instantly.

"You're hurt. Stand down and I will get you help," she offered him, a gesture of kindness that was met with a snort.

"You mean throw me in a jail cell. Sorry. Not interested." What he did next was something Dagger had not counted on. The intruder clapped his hands together, and suddenly a torrent of ice engulfed Dagger, completely surrounding her. Dagger felt the temperature drop by at least thirty degrees, and she shivered as ice began to form on her hero outfit.

"Can you feel the cold?" the intruder said. Immune to its effect he causally strode through the blizzard to eye his opponent. "You can feel your muscles weakening, can't you? That's because the cold is causing them to shut down," he lectured, as Dagger prepared her next move. Knowing she had only one shot at this she had to pick the right moment to strike. "Resistance is futile. I would say 'chill out', but that would be a bit of an overused joke, wouldn't you think?" Suddenly, she heard some crashing noises. "What in the heck?" The figure asked. He looked over to see Dagger smirking despite being very cold and having frozen hair. "What's so funny?"

Dagger smirked. "Prepare to meet an unstoppable force," she said.

The figure seemed about to say something else, but the wall seemed to burst outward, revealing Power Man. "Oh, yeah!" He shouted. He looked around, and he saw a frozen Cloak and a nearly-frozen Dagger. "You're new," he said, looking at the intruder as he punched through the wall of ice surrounding Dagger.

"Ice this guy, Power Man," Dagger said as she attempted to use one of her light daggers to slowly chip through the ice surrounding Cloak.

"That's my line," the intruder protested as he jumped back to dodge Power Man's attack. Hearing more footsteps coming in his direction, the intruder gave a jaunty salute. "So long," he said, detonating a smoke bomb as Predator, Iron Fist, and White Tiger arrived.

Power Man tried clapping at the smoke like he'd seen Hulk do, and it worked. The smoke dissipated, but the intruder was long gone. "Great. He's gone," he said, sounding a bit frustrated.

"He'll be back," Andrew replied, mostly to himself.

"How do you know that?" A recently defrosted Cloak asked.

"Well…" Predator started. He looked away from Cloak and saw Squirrel Girl laying on the ground. "Oh, crud," he said, picking up the frostbitten hero like she was crystal. "I better get her to the infirmary," he said. He looked at Dagger. "Can you walk?" He asked, concerned.

"I can," Dagger replied. "I better take Cloak there, too," she said. She grabbed onto Cloak's robe and pulled him toward the infirmary like he was a Raven-inspired balloon.

Predator ran toward the infirmary with Squirrel Girl in his arms, Iron Fist close behind. White Tiger lingered, staring at the ice as she thought about what she'd just seen. It had been for a brief moment, but she'd sworn she could've seen an insignia on the intruder's armor that resembled the head of a snake, a snake similar to that that had been seen on Predator. "What are you hiding, Andrew?" She asked the cold hallway as she turned around and walked away.

* * *

Meanwhile

"They were tougher than I anticipated, Tony," the intruder said. "The Squirrel Girl was there, but she wasn't alone. She had two friends: a ghostlike guy who teleports and a girl who throws light daggers."

"Hmm…" Tony said. "Did you find out anything about them, Chill?" He asked.

"I'm thinking there's something between the ghost guy and the light girl," Chill replied. "She seemed worried when I froze him. Squirrel Girl doesn't like cold temperatures very much."

"Use that to your advantage next time you visit," Tony said, knowing that Chill was already planning on going back. "You will have help this time, though. I will send the Bald Osprey with you."

Chill nodded. "This will be quite the fight," he said as he hung up. Bald Osprey was a formidable fighter. Not strong, but formidable. "Chill always strikes twice," he said, smiling in the direction of the Academy.

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**

 **Editor's note: Bald Osprey's not a new character. We've encountered them before, but who is he/she? Who knows?**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys I know this is the shortest chapter you probably have ever seen, But I cannot add anything, and I know you guys just want to get into the action as much as we do, well here's a short chapter so we can get into the action more quickly.**

"Andrew, you've got to tell us what you know," Ava said to Andrew as he sat there on his bunk, his armor standing there beside him.

"I don't know anything," Andrew replied flatly.

Ava sighed when she heard this. She had heard him say that three times already. "Andrew, we both know that's a lie. Please just tell me what you know," Ava said, trying reasoning with him.

Before Andrew could reply, the wall opposite them exploded, showering them with debris. Andrew shook the dust from his eyes, and he couldn't believe what he saw. "It can't be…"

"Good to see you again, Andrew…"

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	19. Chapter 19

White Tiger quickly recovered from her initial shock, and she put up a fighting stance as she eyed their uninvited guests. She recognized the first intruder because he was the one who had attacked the Academy a few hours ago. She did not, however, recognize his friend: a bald, unnaturally pale girl with a fierce glint in her eyes. "You're not welcomed here!" Andrew snarled as he quickly activated his armor and stepped inside of it. When he next spoke, the Predator armor added a mechanical snarl of its own. "Leave, or I will kill you!" Predator snarled with a clenched fist.

That comment made Ava's eyes widen underneath her mask. This was a very serious thing for a S.H.I.E.L.D. super hero to say, for Predator to say that he would kill the two intruders if they did not leave. This was something she never thought he would say. "Kill us?" the first intruder laughed with a slight British accent. "You're going to kill us like you did Aegis, mate?" He mocked Andrew, a mock that was not left unpunished. Andrew's response was to fire his suit's plasma cannon, and if it wasn't for the intruder's friend having lightning fast reflexes and pulling him to this side, his head would have left his neck. "You shoot like a Stormtrooper!" The first intruder mocked. "Come on. Come at me," he goaded. Andrew charged at him, granting his wish.

White Tiger turned to see the pale woman staring at her. "How do you know And- Predator?" She asked, trying to sound menacing.

The woman shrugged. "I know many people," she said in an emotionless deadpan, a slight Japanese accent to her words. "Andrew does, too."

"You didn't answer my question," White Tiger growled, extending her claws. "Tell me, or I'll-"

"You'll what?" The woman interrupted. "You'll stab me in the heart with those claws?" She turned around and began walking away. "If you can defeat me, I will tell you, if you can," the woman added, taunting White Tiger.

"Tell me," White Tiger ordered, charging forward with her claws extended. The woman reacted, but not in the way White Tiger expected. A long, black blade appeared in her hand as if she had willed it, and she raised the sword, blocking White Tiger's strike without looking. "What?" She asked.

"You like it?" The woman asked, a smug tone sneaking its way into her voice. "Pure meteoric iron blade. Care to see how your claws take a direct hit from Tashomono?"

"Let's find out," White Tiger replied, charging in.

Meanwhile, Predator and the other intruder started circling each other. "Good to see you again, old friend," the intruder said.

"What do you want?" Andrew asked cautiously, faking to his right.

The intruder didn't follow him. "You know me, Andrew," the man replied. "We were buddies together. Partners. Until you killed Aegis, that is," he added, his voice growing darker at the end.

"That was not me, Blaine!" Andrew snapped, slugging at his opponent's head.

"You know these people?" White Tiger asked Andrew while dodging a well-aimed slash from the pale woman.

"Knew," Andrew answered through clenched teeth. "Past tense."

"Funny. I could say the same about you," Blaine replied, firing an icy blast at White Tiger, causing the heroine to jump into the air to dodge the blast. A section of the floor pulled away, causing White Tiger to fall into a small hole. "I thought all cats landed on their feet," Blaine mocked.

White Tiger snarled as she tried to lift herself out. "Let me out," she growled, "and I'll show you just how cat-"

Her threat was ended by the flat side of a black blade hitting her in the face. "She was done," the pale woman said. She moved her hand up and closed her fingers gently. In response, wires came up and wrapped themselves around White Tiger's wrists and neck, holding her in place. "Now, where were we?" She asked flatly.

The door to the dorm room flew inward. "Right now, you two are on my bad side," Power Man said, walking into the room. "So," he said, recognizing Blaine. "You broke into the Academy! I was waiting for a rematch."

"That will have to wait," Blaine rebutted, walking forward. He clapped his hands together, and the entire room was almost completely covered in ice. "Right now, it's time I settled an old score with Andrew."

"Whoa… Friends of yours?" Power Man asked as he slipped and fell on the ice.

"Long story," Andrew growled as he activated his suit's submachine gun. "About as long as this fresh clip I put in," he added as he began firing at the intruders. Chill dodged out of the way, and his friend simply deflected the bullets with her sword.

"We've got to … beat these people, and quick," Power Man said as he tried to get back on his feet. "Any ideas?"

"Shoot," Andrew replied.

Not knowing what his friend meant, Power Man punched the floor to break the ice a bit. He ran forward and swung. The punch missed Chill, who dodged out of the way, exposing his friend. "Aw, crud," Power Man muttered as he realized that he missed.

The pale woman looked in his direction and raised a section of the flooring to defend herself. It didn't work. Power Man's punch shattered the cold metal, and after barely a moment, it shattered the woman's shoulder. "AUGH!" She screamed as she collapsed to the floor, holding her right shoulder.

Seeing her collapse, Blaine quickly exited the room through the hole he'd entered through. Predator moved to intercept the woman. "Give it up, Omeran," he told her. "You're not getting out of here."

The pale woman, Omeran, stood there, holding her right shoulder as her right arm dangled. "It would appear that … I have no choice," she said, wincing in pain. With her left hand, she sent a clandestine message before collapsing to the ground, passing out from the pain in her shoulder and collarbone.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a hidden area, the message was received. "Agent Omeran has been captured, Tony," Chill said.

"Hmm… That's not good," Tony replied. "How badly was she injured?"

"Her right shoulder's broken," Chill replied, "and I'm willing to bet her collarbone broke, too. Still, despite the fact that she was captured, the mission was a success."

"Excellent," Tony replied. "Excellent…"

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**

 **Editor's note: Tashomono means 'outsider'**


	20. Chapter 20

"Ava, we've got to do something," Spidey said as he paced back and forth in the conference room. It had been several hours since the Academy had been hit by a third attack in less than a week, and this time, the intruders had made a direct attack and had injured Ava.

"What do you propose?" Ava asked as she continued to rub her wrists. The wires that had constrained her had slightly dug into her skin, cutting them.

"You're his field handler, I was wondering if Andrew would open up to you," Spidey said hopefully.

"That seems most unlikely," Ava replied as she looked down sadly. "Andrew trusts me about as far as he can throw me, and that's without his armor," she added as she predicted that Spidey was going to say he could throw her pretty far with his armor.

"Can you perhaps... put on the charm?" Spiderman asked Ava sheepishly, which earned a small laugh from her, which surprised Spidey.

"That's not even a possibility," she dismissed with a small laugh.

"Worth a shot," the web-slinging hero said with a small laugh before getting serious again. "There is one person is the Academy who he does trust." he said before the door to the conference room opened with a mechanical hiss.

"You wanted to see me Spider-Man?" Squirrel Girl asked as she walked into the room.

"You've got to be kidding me," Ava whispered as she realized what Spider-Man was going to try and do. Ava had no problem with SG personally or on the battlefield, but she severely doubted that SG would help them with what he was about to propose to her.

"We need answers," Spider-Man said bluntly. "Answers only Andrew can give, and since we're not gonna get a peep out of him directly, we were hoping you could help us out directly."

* * *

"No, absolutely not." SG answered as she crossed her arms for extra emphasis.

"SG, you are the only one Andrew trusts, which is why we are asking you to do this," Spidey said as he tried reasoning with his teammate.

"It's because I'm his friend that I'm not doing this. I have too much respect for Andrew," Squirrel Girl replied, the hair on her tail starting to stand up on end.

Spiderman raised his hands. "Look. I don't like this any more than you do," he said, "but he trusts us about as far as you could throw his armor suit."

"Fair enough," Squirrel Girl admitted. "What about that Omeran lady? Why not ask her?"

"We're trying to do this on two fronts," Ava replied. "You talk to Andrew, see what he knows. Spidey and I will talk to that Omeran girl, see if we can get something out of her."

Squirrel Girl stood there, unsure of what to do. "He's gonna be really mad with me," she said, "but I'll do it. I could use some answers of my own right now."

Spider-Man nodded. "Trust me, Squirrel Girl," he told her as she turned around and walked out of the room, "if Predator trusted me, I'd be the one doing the asking."

As she walked to Predator's room, Squirrel Girl thought long and hard about what she was about to do. She could lose her friendship with Andrew, but at the same time, she needed answers about the guy who almost froze her, and about his female companion. She approached the dorm room and sighed. "Well, here we go."

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	21. Chapter 21

As SG walked through the door, she immediately made the short walk to Andrews bunk, but to her, it seemed to take a long time. Perhaps it was her nervousness about what she was about to do to her closest friend at the Academy. She found Andrew sitting on his bed with his armor standing there next to him. Andrew was holding what appeared to be some kind of tool as he worked on a part of his armor. "What are you doing?" She asked as she approached him.

"Doing some repairs," was his quick answer as he looked up from his work.

"What needs fixed? I never noticed a problem with your armor," Doreen said with a confused look on her face.

"There was a small malfunction in a part of the armor that caused it to drain power. While it's not a big problem, I'd rather have it fixed now 'cause I wouldn't want this problem to turn into a big problem, say, if I run out of power fighting a super villain," Andrew said as he continued to work on his armor.

Taking a deep breath, SG decided it was time to do what Spidey had asked her to do. "Andrew, can I sit down?" She asked her friend as he looked up from his repairs in order to meet her eyes.

"Yea. Be my guest," Andrew said as he scooted over on his bed and gave her a welcoming gesture.

"Thanks," she quickly said as she took a seat beside her friend. "Can I talk to you, Andrew?" She asked sheepishly.

"Sure," Andrew said with his warm and welcoming smile. "I'm an open book. Ask away," he said as he folded his hands behind his head and leaned back against the wall behind his back.

"Well," Doreen began as she twiddled her thumbs nervously. "It's about those two attackers..." she said before Andrew suddenly jerked forward from his reclining position.

"That book is closed. Sorry, Doreen," Andrew said in a cagey voice.

"Andy, don't you trust me?" Doreen asked as she looked into his blue eyes with her brown ones.

"I trust you with my life, Doreen," Andrew said softly, putting his head between his hands and looking down at the ground.

"Then trust me with this information," Doreen said softly as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What do you want to know?" Andrew asked her in a barely audible whisper.

"I, for starters, would like to know more about the man who almost froze me," Doreen said softly.

"His name is Chill Blaine," Andrew said softly as he removed his hands from his head and looked up to face his friend.

"What's your relation to him?" She asked as she carefully calculated every question.

"We were partners. Actually, we were also friends," Andrew said as he continued to look into her trusting eyes.

"What kind of stuff did the two of you do?" Doreen asked.

"Doreen, there are some things I cannot tell you. It's stuff that still haunts me, and I don't want you to have this burden," Andrew said in a caring whisper.

"Andy, you don't have to carry this burden alone," Doreen tried reasoning with her friend.

Andrew gave her a look so sad that it actually made Doreen's heart ache. "We all have secrets. With most heroes, the greatest secret is preserving their identity, so nobody they care about will get hurt," he said as Doreen noticed a tear in his sad blue eyes, "but my secrets are much darker, and more tragic, Doreen. It's stuff that haunts my dreams. Every time I close my eyes, it's what haunts me at every corner," he said with a sharp and brittle feeling in his chest. What happened next surprised Andrew, as Doreen wrapped her arms around him and gave her friend a soft hug. "Doreen, you are a hero. I'm not," he said in a defeated tone as he broke off eye contact from her.

It hurt Doreen to see her friend Andrew, the ex-Marine, and Predator, who had saved her and fought alongside her in battle, breaking down like this. "Andrew," she said as she gave him another hug, "You saved me back at the night club in Miami. You are a hero," she said, which caused him to look back up at her.

"No, I'm no hero, Doreen. I've done horrible things, and only the Lord will be able to forgive my sins, because I never will be able to forgive myself," he said in a horribly pained whisper.

"I don't care what you've done in the past, Andrew," Doreen said as she gave him yet another hug, "I've only known you for a little over a month, but from what I've seen, you are a hero," she said, which caused him to look up.

"Thank you," Andrew said in a low whisper. "That really means a lot to me," he said, which earned a caring smile from Doreen. He sighed, and continued. "To answer more of your question, Chill and I were part of something, something powerful. It wasn't illegal, something that I thought was a just cause, but my pride blinded me, until it was too late," he said as he pressed a button on his wrist watch.

The Predator armor responded by opening a secret compartment. Andrew, reaching into it, pulled out two objects that Doreen recognized immediately. It was the two silver dog tags that she had seen when they first met in this very bunk room over a month ago. Andrew handed them to her, which really surprised her, but she put them in the palm of her hand as she looked them over. She remembered the names Andrew Steele and Cynthia Burns. "Andrew, what happened to Aegis?" She asked, which resulted in tears falling from Andrews eyes.

"Cynthia's dead, Doreen," Andrew said in a whisper filled with so much pain and sorrow that Doreen had to fight back a tear of her own.

"What happened?" She asked in a compassionate voice.

"All I will say is that I put my trust into one person, and Cynthia paid the price for my mistake. That's something that will never leave," he said in a whisper so pathetic it almost came out like a whimper. "Chill and Omeran are after me because of what happened, but only two of us know what really happened, and Cynthia cannot talk, so I speak for both of us, I'm sorry, Doreen, but I will not say any more. Please, let me be alone," he politely asked as he turned away from her. Doreen gave him one last hug as she left the room.

* * *

-Meanwhile-

Spider-Man and White Tiger sat there as they looked at the intruder they had captured. "So, your name's Omeran," Spider-Man started. "That's a nice name."

Omeran narrowed her eyes slightly. "Really? Do you mean that, S.H.I.E.L.D. pawn, or do you just wish to make me feel good so that I will be persuaded to give up information to your superiors?" She asked coldly. "So, what do you want to learn from me, S.H.I.E.L.D. ?"

"Well, for starters, how do you know Andrew?" White Tiger asked bluntly, rubbing her sore wrists.

Omeran looked over at the white-garbed woman. "Let us say we were close," she said, a mischievous look in her eyes, "but not as close as you and Andrew are. I am surprised he chose someone as short-tempered as you, but I will not judge."

Under her mask, White Tiger's face turned a beet red. "He is not my boyfriend!" She shouted.

Omeran was unfazed. "Really?" She asked. "Yet you were sitting next to him when I saw you, and he was not in his armor."

"Okay, we're getting off topic, here," Spider Man said, stepping between them. "What's your full name, and how do you know our friend?" He asked.

"Do you mean Predator or Andrew?" Omeran asked casually, shocking both heroes. "I know both of them well, or I used to. As for my name, you already know it. I am Omeran. There is nothing else to tell," she finished, wincing slightly when her broken shoulder moved.

Spider-Man noticed, and he said, "You know, Power Man wasn't trying to break your shoulder. He wasn't even aiming for you. You were just hit because your friend jumped out of the way. By the way, Power Man's sorry for hitting you."

"You will have to forgive me if I do not believe you," Omeran replied with a scoff. "I believe we are done here," she added, turning away from the two heroes.

"We're not done here," White Tiger countered. "Who sent you to attack us? Why was that ice guy with you?"

Omeran chuckled coldly. "What is that phrase you Americans have… 'Good things come to those who wait'?" She asked. "You will see Tony soon enough."

Spiderman paled under his mask. "You don't mean…"

"You will learn soon enough who I mean, hero," Omeran replied, turning away from the heroes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" White Tiger asked, but Omeran said nothing. The two heroes returned to the room they had come from, and Doreen was waiting for them. "Omeran knew Andrew, but she's very uncooperative," White Tiger explained, still irritated that Omeran had taken her down so easily.

"She knows more than she's letting on," Spider Man added. "So, what did you get from Andrew?"

Doreen sighed, and she said, "Andrew used to be part of some team thing, along with this girl named Aegis. I think her real name's Cynthia Burns cuz it obviously isn't Andrew."

"What about Omeran and the freeze guy?" White Tiger asked.

"The ice-guy's name is Chill Blaine. Somehow, Aegis died, and Omeran and Chill think Andrew's responsible," Doreen replied.

"Responsible for what?!" An angry voice billowed from the doorway.

Doreen spun around, tail frizzy like that of a scared cat, to see a very angry Andrew standing in the doorway. The color drained from the heroine's face, and she muttered, "Oh, pistachios…"

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	22. Chapter 22

**Alright my loyal readers We have an extra long chapter for all of you. I will be going to have a knee surgery tomorrow morning so I don't know when we'll be able to update again.**

 **Also I want to give a special shout out to my amazing friend Darkest Nightmares Dread for his amazing work. I really want you guys to check him out, he's a really good writer and easily worth checking out.**

"This morning, we are going to be practicing fighting against larger and stronger opponents," Agent Coulson said to the Academy students, who currently were all standing before him.

"That just means we are going to fight Power-Man all day, right?" Spider-Man joked, which earned a similar laugh from most of the other students.

"I wouldn't mind it," Power Man quipped as he cracked his knuckles.

"That's not exactly what we had in mind," Coulson said as he checked the watch that was on his wrist, "Anytime now, a few guest instructors will arrive to help out. You guys had better be ready. This will honestly test your abilities to the max," Coulson said as he turned around and left the room.

"Like that wasn't cryptic," Predator mumbled under his breath.

While the students waited for their guest instructors to arrive, everyone seemed to be wondering who they would be fighting against. "Maybe it's Thor," White Tiger said to Iron Fist and Kid Arachnid, who nodded their approval.

"I honestly could care less," Scarlet Spider said in his usual deadpan voice, which earned a laugh from Predator.

"I couldn't agree more," Predator agreed with his teammate as the two of them began a conversation about who they wouldn't like to see show up.

"I just hope it isn't Doctor Strange," Scarlet Spider said. "Magic gives me the willies."

"Everything gives you the willies," Predator replied.

"What about a wet willie?" A voice said out of thin air.

Scarlet Spider and Predator jumped. "Where are you?" Scarlet Spider demanded. "Show yourself."

In response, the entrance to the training room opened, revealing a very familiar, hulking figure. "Okay, Rick. You can come out of hiding," the green figure said.

"Okay, Hulk," the voice said, and out of the air, right next to Scarlet Spider, a blue Hulk-like figure appeared. "Hey there, stabby. How's it going?" The blue Hulk asked cheerfully.

"Going real well," Scarlet drawled sarcastically.

"That's the spirit!" The blue figure said, ignoring the spider's sarcasm as he turned to his floating cameras. "Hey there, gamma geeks! This is A-Bomb, and guess where we are today? The Academ—Hey, what did you do that for?" A-Bomb asked Predator, who was standing over a busted camera.

"We've kinda had a few issues with pests," Predator replied.

"Good thing ya called pest control, then," a loud voice yelled as its owner, Red Hulk, walked into the room. He looked around, spotted Predator, and made his way toward him. "So, I hear you were in the Army. That right, kid?"

"That is correct, sir," Andrew replied, his military training kicking in in the presence of the general.

Red Hulk smiled, and replied, "Don't be thinking I'm gonna take easy on ya, punk, but before I pounded you into the dust, I wanted to thank you for your service. Not many join the forces these days, so I have to make do with yelling at wimps like you!" He shouted at the other heroes in the room.

"Take it easy there, Red. They're just kids," Hulk said, putting a hand on Red Hulk's shoulder.

"Aw, c'mon. Where's your sense of humor, Greenie? I was just messing with the kid," Red Hulk replied.

"So, YOU'RE our tutors?" Kid Arachnid asked, looking surprised. "Aw, man. This is gonna be awesome!"

"You got that right," She-Hulk replied, walking into the room. "Don't think I'm gonna go easy on you just because you're a guy, Kid."

"Well… I'm not gonna go easy on you just because you're a Hulk!" Kid Arachnid replied, trying to sound tough.

"Yeah… Stick to bein' a spider, Kid," Red Hulk said. "So, Jones. You gonna do the thing?" He asked.

"Aw, yeah!" A-Bomb replied, before looking confused. "Wait. What thing?"

"The thing you've been rehearsing for hours on the Jet," She-Hulk deadpanned.

"Ohh, right," A-Bomb replied as he curled up into a round, spiky blue ball. "Auto-Hulks, transform and roll out!" He said in his best Optimus Prime voice.

"You heard the ball," Andrew replied. "Let's roll out!" He said as the two groups of heroes, tutor and students, ran toward each other…

* * *

"Whoa!" Power Man yelled as he was flung into the wall.

"You're out of here, kid!" Red Hulk yelled as he relished in the victory over Power Man.

"Scarlet, Tiger, form up!" Predator yelled at the other two students who were still standing. His fellow heroes nodded and took up fighting stances alongside Predator.

"Scarlet, can you web them?" Tiger asked as they dodged another attack from A-Bomb.

"My webs are strong, but I doubt they can beat guys who can lift mountains, so I don't recommend that," Scarlet said as his claws extended from his wrists and he lunged forward in a zig-zag pattern at Skaar.

Skaar's simple response was to raise his sword and parry Scarlet's slash attacks. Scarlet was then met by a blast from one of Red's guns, effectively knocking him out of the battle. "Only one red can be the winner kid, and it ain't Scarlet!" Red boasted as he brandished his guns.

"It's up to you and me. Let's at least try and beat one of them," Predator whispered to Tiger as she landed from a quick maneuver and stood back to back with Predator as the five Hulk's circled around them.

"You got a plan?" Tiger asked as she ducked under a gun blast from Red's gun. "So far, none of my plans have worked," she said as she hoped that Predator had a plan.

"I've got a plan, but it's a high risk, high reward," Predator whispered as his HUD continued to give him battle options.

"What's the plan?" Tiger whispered as they both jumped over a blast from She Hulk's gamma gauntlets.

"Follow my lead" was Predator's response as he pressed a button on his right gauntlet and a rectangular cylinder appeared where the grappling hooks launched from. "Hey Red," Predator shouted, which instantly got the attention of Red Hulk. "Let's see which of us has the superior toys," Predator said in a mocking voice.

"You seriously think you have better firepower than my guns?!" Red yelled in a challenging tone, "You Marines have never seen firepower like these!" He challenged Predator as he made a show of twirling his guns.

"You won't be able to see them in a second," Predator yelled, which got the direct attention of all the Hulks. Before any of them could respond, Predator fired the device from his launcher and it flew to where Red was standing and blew up in his face with nine blinding blasts of light.

"Ahh!" Red yelled as he began quite literally blind firing at the spot where Predator and Tiger had been standing moments ago, but Predator had another trick up his sleeve. At the same moment he had launched his 9 Banger into Red's eyes, he had also dropped another rectangular tube into the ground, which exploded upon impact. It completely covered Predator and Tiger in a cloud of white smoke that covered them from eyesight, surprising the four Hulks who could still see.

"Keep your guard up!" Hulk ordered as he tried to figure out what the two remaining students had planned. Suddenly, he noticed a grappling hook zip up out of the smoke and snag unto the ceiling, and with a mechanical whirl, Predator was pulled upwards toward the ceiling at an amazing speed. "Skaar, jump up and slice the cord!" Hulk ordered as he wanted to take out Predator before he got the high ground.

"Skaar slash!" Skaar yelled as he jumped into the air with his sword and prepared to cut the cable. what happened next was completely unexpected as Tiger jumped from the smoke and intercepted Skaar mid jump before the hero could really get up into a position to slice the cord. The two grappled as they fell towards the training floor. However, Tiger used her superior agility and cat-like reflexes to separate herself from her grapple with Skaar, and she used his chest like a spring board as she kicked out of his grasp and tucked and rolled into a fighting stance upon hitting the ground. Skaar, however, was not so graceful with his landing as the momentum from being kicked by White Tiger made him fall into the ground and leave a small crater where he landed.

"Nice move," Hulk congratulated as he eyed Predator, who now was handing from the ceiling.

"Where are you, ya punk?!" Red yelled as his eye sight finally returned and he began to look around for the hero who had blinded him.

"Permission to strike an officer of higher ranking, sir?" Predator yelled at Red.

"Permission denied," was Red's simple response as he continued to look around for Predator.

"Good thing I'm no longer in the service, so I'm able to ignore that order." Predator replied as he released his grappling hook, fell with the speed of a bullet, and prepared to strike the unsuspecting Red Hulk from above.

However, unknown to Predator, Red had located Predator without showing it and was waiting for the right moment, there! Predator was at arm's length, and Red suddenly turned and delivered an uppercut to Predator's face that was so powerful, it launched the armored hero across the room and into the wall where all the defeated heroes were observing the fight.

"Oww…" Predator moaned as he got embedded slightly into the wall.

"I told you permission denied, you little punk. Maybe you should remember your Marine training and follow orders," Red shouted at the defeated hero, who was currently being pulled out of the wall by Spider-Man and Power Man. The fight ended a few seconds later as A-Bomb, using his invisibility, was able to sneak up behind Tiger and pin her to the ground with his knees on her back.

"That's match," Hulk said as he clapped his hands in approval. All the young heroes walked back towards the center of the room and approached the mighty hero. "You might not have won the battle, but you did show determination, and most importantly, you showed heart," Hulk lectured, to which all the heroes nodded their heads in approval. "This might sound ironic coming from me off all people," Hulk began with a small chuckle that got everyone's attention, "but strength alone does not win battles. You need brains just as much as strength," Hulk said as he crossed his arms with a gentle smile on his massive face.

"Come on, Greenie," Red said in a disapproving tone as he made his way over to the circle of heroes, who promptly parted to make room for him to pass. "We've beaten most of our foes with strength. Am I the only one who remembers Fire Lord and Super Skrull?" Red said, which caused A-Bomb to speak up.

"True, but we've had to beat plenty of foes by using our smarts. For more details, please watch past videos," A-Bomb said with a nod towards his floating cameras with were still recording everything. Some of the young heroes nodded, showing that they would indeed check out some of his videos.

"You alright, Andy? You took a pretty nasty shot," SG whispered to Predator as she put her hand on his shoulder as Red Hulk and A-Bomb were bickering with each other. In response, Predator jerked his shoulder, which made SG quickly pull her hand of Predator's shoulder. SG brought her hand back to her side with a hurt look on her normally chipper face. Since she had leaked Andrew's secrets to Spidey and White Tiger, Andrew had been really cold and distant from her. Whenever she attempted to talk to him, he would either ignore her or leave. Before she could say anything else, A-Bomb spoke up.

"Hey, would some of you guys mind doing interviews for the show?" He asked the group, to which some of them nodded immediately or held their hands up.

As some of the heroes headed out of the training room, and others headed over to a corner to be interviewed by A-Bomb, Predator felt a tapping on his shoulder, and was surprised to see who it was upon turning around. "Got a minute, Predator, is it?" Hulk asked as he stood in front of the armored hero with his arms crossed.

"Yea, it's Predator… and sure," was Predator quick response.

"Walk with me for a minute," Hulk said as he began walking towards the door to the hall. Predator quickly caught up to him. "What was with that little show back there?" Hulk asked as they walked towards the door.

"You mean me blinding Red?" Predator asked.

Hulk shook his head. "No. I meant with you shrugging off the girl with the bushy tail," Hulk said, to which Predator gave a small sigh.

"You mean me shrugging of Squirrel Girl?" Predator asked.

"Yeah. She seems friendly, delivered a nasty punch when I fought her, but why did you shrug her off?" Hulk asked.

"It's… complicated…" Predator replied.

The Hulk gave out a small snort. "Try me." Hulk said as they left the training room and started walking down the hall.

"I have some problems with people hunting me down," Predator said, to which Hulk gave a small laugh.

"Don't we all," he said with a laugh which ceased once he saw Predator's armored face staring at him. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Predator replied. "Anyway, he told me I could give her some of my burden by revealing some of my secrets to her, and..." He never got to finish his sentence due to Hulk raising a hand to cut him off.

"Let me guess. She told someone," Hulk said as he eyed the hero, "and you feel betrayed by her actions?" Hulk said to which Predator nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, we were close friends, but now, I don't know how to feel around her," Predator said, to which Hulk let out a small sigh of his own.

"Kid, how old are you?" Hulk asked as he crossed his hands.

"I'm nineteen," Predator replied with confusion evident in his voice.

"Take it from me, son. I know how it feels to have the world against you. As you know, people used to call me a monster, and some still do," Hulk said as he took a breath, "but the bottom line is that girl cares about you. I understand how you feel about her telling your secrets, but she obviously only did it because she cares about you. I could see the hurt look on her face when you shrugged her off," Hulk lectured to Predator, who stopped and pondered for a second.

"In my heart I know your right, but it's hard to let this go," Predator said to which Hulk let out a snort.

"You can choose to let this tear you up, or you can talk to her and try to figure out what to do between the two of you. You got heart kid, so please try to patch this up. Follow your heart kid." Hulk said while he gave Predator a small pat on the back, and Predator flinched upon the touch.

"Sorry. Forgot you got flung into the wall," Hulk said with a grin, which caused them both to break out laughing.

"Thanks, Hulk. You're just a big softy underneath all the muscle, you know that right?" Predator said, to which Hulk shrugged.

"Don't tell Red that, or I'll have to hear about that for the next month," Hulk said, to which Predator nodded. "Good. Now, why don't you try and patch things up with your friend? Meanwhile, why A-Bomb is busy with his interviews, I'm going to raid the cafeteria," Hulk said as he turned down a different hallway and headed towards the cafeteria. Predator chuckled under his breath and headed back towards to bunk to talk with SG.

* * *

As Predator neared the bunk rooms, he could tell something was wrong. One: his HUD just turned bright red, indicating an immediate danger, and two: he could hear moans of pain coming from the dorms, which currently were open. Picking up his pace, he quickly entered the room, and was met with a horrific sight. Several of his fellow heroes were lying on the ground unconscious, some of them bleeding, and some of them lying against the walls like they had been thrown against the wall. "What happened here?" Andrew said in a horrified whisper as he rushed over to where his friends lay and began taking vital signs. To his relief, they all were alive, just badly beaten. Suddenly, the motion tracker inside his helmet indicated a target within striking distance. Quickly activating the claws on both his gauntlets, he turned and took up a fighting stance, but quickly lowered his guard upon seeing that Dagger was the one who had triggered his motion sensor.

"Predator, what happened?" Dagger asked as she came over and began checking over the heroes Predator had yet to check.

"I don't know. I just got here, and they were like this," Predator replied.

Before Dagger could reply, a low and menacing voice entered the room. "That would be my handiwork," the voice said with a hint of venom. Predator and Dagger both turned in unison and took up a fighting stance, Predator triggering his claws and Dagger lighting up a light dagger in both hands.

The figure before them wore a whitish gray armor with a black utility belt around his waist. Two holstered guns were strapped to the man's chest armor, he had a large orange and blue shield attached to his left arm, and a he had a small white hood that went over the back of his head. The most noticeable feature of them all was the skull-like mask that hid his every facial feature, the mask reducing his eyes to little white slits. "Hello, Dagger. Long time no see." the intruder mocked as he gave a come here gesture with his fingers. Dagger gave a yell of rage and flung both her daggers at the skull-mask wearing intruder. However, the intruder easily sidestepped the attack and with lighting fast reflexes, pulled out one of his holstered guns and opened fire on Dagger. The gun shot a blast of energy at her. However, Dagger dodged with her own reflexes and took a jump kick at her attacker. The figure raised his shield to block her attack, and with one fluid motion, swept her leg out from underneath Dagger, knocking her to the ground. He then bashed her once in the face, and Dagger was out.

"Now that I've taken care of that inconvenience, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Taskmaster," he said with a mocking bow as he and Predator circled each other.

"Predator," Predator responded as he faked right, but Taskmaster didn't even move an inch.

"You have a good name," Taskmaster complimented, and it sent shivers down Predator spine. It was never a good thing when a super villain gave him compliments.

"Why do you care?" Predator asked as his HUD continued to draw up a battle plan.

"I have been watching you from a distance, Predator, and I've decided it's time," Taskmaster said as he dropped his shield and casually strode forward.

"Stay back!" Predator ordered as he raised his now loaded submachine gun at Taskmaster.

"Predator, I've already identified seventeen different ways to beat you, so if I wanted a fight, you would already be down," Taskmaster said, which caused Predator to tense up.

"If you're not here to fight, then what do you want?" Predator asked without lowering his gun.

"Let me start by saying that you're wasting your potential at S.H.I.E.L.D. I believe you could be so much more," Taskmaster lectured.

Predator lowered his gun and decided to play along. "Really, how could I be better?" he asked the villain.

"You see, I also run a school, and I believe that under my training you could be so much better than any student in this S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy," Taskmaster said, which made Predator feel sick.

"You want me to be a villain is what you're saying," Predator said as his HUD finally figured out a plan.

"You could be the best villain I would ever train. You have aggression and anger, and unlike S.H.I.E.L.D., who wants you to stomp out those emotions, I want you to use them. What do you say? Do you accept my generous offer?" Taskmaster said with sincerity in his low voice.

"Thanks, but I'd rather go back to being a vigilante before I join you, so thanks, but no thanks!" Predator yelled as he charged at Taskmaster.

The villain stepped on his shield, which caused it to come up into his waiting hand, which he then used to block Predator's claws. "Such a waste," Taskmaster whispered before he pushed Predator out the door with one strong surprise bash from his shield. Before Predator could re-enter the battle, the doors closed shut with a mechanical hiss, locking Predator on the outside of the dorms.

"When I get back inside, I'm going to rip you a new one with my claws!" Predator threatened as he began slashing the doors. When that didn't work, he tried to pry open the doors, but even his armor barely got them to budge.

"What's the problem, Predator?" A voice called out from behind Predator. The armored hero turned around and saw Hulk standing behind him. "I could hear you screaming from down the hallway."

"A super villain is inside the dorms with my teammates, and he locked me out. Can you give me a hand?" Predator moaned as he tried to pry open the door.

"Step aside," Hulk said in his serious voice as he gently pushed Predator to the side. He then stuck his hands quite literally into the locked doors and pulled them open, revealing Task Master with a needle in his hand taking blood from the unconscious Dagger. "Hey, skull face!" Hulk yelled at Taskmaster, which caused the villain to abruptly stop what he was doing. "Why don't you just surrender, and I'll only smash you a little," Hulk said as he cracked his knuckles. Without answering, Taskmaster somersaulted over Hulk and Predator's head in one fluid motion and took off running down the hallway towards the hanger, both heroes running after them. "Red, a supervillain is running towards the hanger. Try and cut him off," Hulk ordered. Without waiting for a reply, both heroes continued running after them.

"Gotcha covered, Greenie," Red Hulk said over the comm. "Shulkie's bringing in the Jet to try and cut off ol' Mr. Halloween."

"I've got a treat for him," Hulk quipped as he sprinted through the halls at high speed. Within a few moments, Hulk and Predator were only a few steps behind Taskmaster. "Give it up, skull face," Hulk growled.

"With pleasure," Taskmaster replied, throwing a suitcase at the heroes. Predator grabbed it out of thin air without a thought. "Need pickup," he said into his earpiece. As he ran outside, a small Quinjet flew over, a length of rope dangling from the rear door. Taskmaster jumped, grabbed the cord, and quickly pulled himself up.

"Dammit," Predator said as the jet quickly flew out of sight. "I didn't get a look at the driver. Did you?" He asked Hulk.

"Nope," Hulk replied. The Hulk's Quinjet flew over and landed. "Jen, did you get a lock on them?" He asked.

"Yep," She-Hulk replied. "All we have to do is go after him, right?"

"Darn right," Spiderman replied, the heroes coming up behind him. "Taskmaster's a guy for hire. If we follow him, he might lead us to his employer.," he added. "Okay. "Cloak, you're with Dagger. Scarlet, you're with Iron Spider. Kid Arachnid, you're with me…"

Predator tuned out Spiderman as he stared in the direction Taskmaster's jet had flown. (Who was that guy, and why had he tried to collect blood samples from the heroes?) Predator wondered as he opened the suitcase and saw the red-filled vials.

"…And finally, Squirrel Girl, you're with Predator," Spiderman said, distracting Predator from his thoughts.

"What?" Predator asked.

"You're with Squirrel Girl," Spiderman ordered as he walked forward. "I'll join you after I get that suitcase to the lab," he said.

Predator handed the suitcase as the other heroes began piling into S.H.I.E.L.D. jets, and the Hulks began piling into their Quinjet. Soon, only he and Doreen were standing on the landing pad. "So, we're teammates again," Predator said awkwardly.

"Kinda reminds me of that club you took me to," Doreen replied.

"You and I remember that club a lot differently," Predator replied, "but yep. We're teammates again. Come on," he said as he ran toward an unoccupied Jet. Within minutes, the group was in the air, hot on the trail of Taskmaster and his unnamed employer…

 **To be continued…**

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	23. Chapter 23

**I'm back and almost to full strength after my knee surgery. I want to give a shout out to my good friend Darkest Nightmare's Dread for his amazing work in this chapter. Also I recomend checking out his amazing story "Redemption" it's easily worth checking out**

Andrew sat at the controls of the Quinjet as he and Squirrel Girl zoomed over the seemingly endless blue mass that was the ocean. This was no pleasure cruise. They currently were in pursuit of Taskmaster, who had broken into the Academy, beaten multiple students, had attempted to steal blood samples from the students, and had escaped with the help of his mysterious employer. "Are we there yet?" Doreen said with a slight giggle in her voice.

Andrew looked away from the controls to face his teammate. "Really? You're going to use that joke?" Andrew dead panned in a disapproving tone as he turned his eyes back to the controls.

"I was just trying to make you laugh," Doreen said with a sigh as her smile was replaced with a rare serious expression.

"We are in pursuit of a super villain who attacked the Academy. I'm not in the joking mood." Andrew said in a disapproving tone.

"I'm sorry," Doreen apologized. Andrew's simple response was to nod his head in agreement. Doreen sighed. "It's not like I wanted to give your secrets up, Andrew," she said.

"Then why did you do it?" Andrew asked bluntly.

"Because… because I had been wondering about things, myself," Doreen confessed. "I've been wondering about that Chill guy, and whoever that Omeran girl is."

"Still, I trusted you," Andrew rebutted, "and you gave my secrets away to other people. How would you feel if I did that to you?"

"I'd be surprised that you found dirt on me," Squirrel Girl replied.

Andrew smiled slightly. "Really?" He asked. "Cuz I seem to remember a certain Pistachio Ice Cream incident…"

Doreen's face turned a little red as she remembered the incident. "How was I supposed to know that it wasn't ice cream?" She protested.

"Next time, don't listen to your squirrels," Andrew replied as he turned to face forward, "and try listening to me. I told you I didn't want other people knowing my secrets."

"I told you, I didn't want to do it," Doreen replied, sounding exasperated. "I knew something like this would happen. I knew our friendship would be ruined," she added gloomily as her tail drooped and she looked at her hands in her lap.

Andrew frowned. True, he was less than pleased about the fact that Doreen had told Spiderman and White Tiger secrets he'd wanted to stay hidden, but he could tell that it was eating her up. "It's not ruined," he said, causing Doreen to look up in surprise.

"I thought you hated me," the squirrel hero said.

"You know me," Andrew replied. "If I hated you, you would've known, and I wouldn't have traveled all this way with you. In a way, our friendship is just like me. I'm battered and a bit bruised, but I haven't fallen apart just yet, and neither has our friendship. Besides, Spiderman once told me, 'a good friend will get you out of trouble, but a great friend will be right there in the thick of it with you.'"

Doreen smiled and chuckled. "We've certainly been in our fair share of trouble, haven't we?" She asked.

Andrew nodded. "We have, and in a couple hours, we'll either be in trouble, or about to be," he replied. He turned around, and he could tell that Doreen was thinking of asking him something, but was debating between asking and not asking. "What's the question?" He asked.

Doreen sighed. "Do you know anything about the pasts of your former friends?" She asked.

Andrew thought about it for a moment. "Chill never said much about his past," he said, "and Omeran was even less talkative. She's not one for conversation."

"Yeah, I noticed," Doreen remarked wryly. "Chill's got cold powers, and Omeran's got a cold personality."

Andrew nodded. "She's not good at making friends," he replied. "Something to do with her childhood, I'd imagine. Something about it being rather rough…"

"Yeah…" Doreen replied, trailing off. "She sure knows how to get under peoples' skin. Ava's still upset that she wasn't cooperating, and apparently, Omeran said something about you two being a couple… Is that true?" She asked, genuinely curious.

Andrew opened his mouth to say something, but paused, his face coloring a little. "We're … not a couple," he said eventually.

Doreen shrugged her shoulders. "Just remember, you did NOT hear it from me," she said.

Andrew nodded. "Yeah. Spider-Man's mouth could outrun Quicksilver," he joked.

"We're just about there," Red Hulk said over the radio. "Lock and load, kids. Marine boy, try not to get shot."

"Don't worry, hothead," Andrew replied back. "I can take it. I'll show you just how much tougher a Marine is than an Army guy."

"OOH! Shots fired!" A-Bomb said over the radio.

"Whoever finds Skull-face's employer first is the tough guy," Red Hulk said.

"Challenge accepted," Andrew said as the jet flew closer to its destination. "Nothing like a little competition to make things interesting…" The Quinjets touched down, and the heroes ran into the base in groups of two. "This place is creepy." Predator said as he and SG walked through a pitch black hallway that was in the mountain facility that Taskmaster had fled to. Predator was in the lead, using the night vision in his helmet to look ahead, SG stood behind him, using a flashlight since she could not see in the dark.

"Didn't think you where one to be scared so easily," SG whispered as she covered their six.

"I'm not scared," Predator said quickly as he continued to look ahead, his night vision giving everything a green tint. "I just don't like how Spidey split us up, I mean yea we are able to cover more ground by us splitting into groups of two, but that also makes us vulnerable to attack. Taskmaster took out almost the entire Academy by himself, and I don't like our chances of beating him with just the two of us," Andrew whispered as the two arrived at a crossroads in the hall.

"I agree," Doreen said as she stepped forward and shined her light down the left hall way, while Andrew using his night vision looked down the right, "but Spidey has lead us to victory multiple times, I think we should trust his judgement." Doreen said as she tried looking into the darkness that was beyond the light of her flashlight.

"Doreen, you got anything?" Predator said as he continued to look down his hall.

"I can't see the whole hallway," Doreen replied. "Wait," she said as a figure appeared some ways down the hallway. Before she could say anything, a knife flew through the air, missing the two heroes. "Yep. It's Taskmaster," Doreen said. Another knife flew toward them, causing Squirrel Girl to jump backward. A floor panel, triggered by the heroine's landing, flipped her into a closet, which closed and locked itself.

"Come at me," Taskmaster said in a taunting voice as he made a taunting 'come here' gesture with his hands.

"I'm fine where I am. Thanks for the offer, though," Predator replied as he fired his submachine gun as the villain.

Taskmaster simply blocked by raising his shield. "I've watched you long enough to know you can do better than that," Taskmaster taunted as he threw his shield at Predator. The hero somersaulted over the attack and threw a right hook at the villain, which the villain countered by catching his fist with his open hand with surprising strength. "I could see that attack coming a mile away. Please try to attack less predictably," Taskmaster said as he delivered a powerful uppercut to the heroes armored jaw, which sent Predator sailing back into the wall and crashing into the shield, whose edge was pointing out of the wall.

"This I why I wanted to teach you," Taskmaster lectured as he causally walked towards the injured hero, "If you had trained under me you could have saw that attack coming and countered it." the villain lectured with a small chuckle in his low and menacing voice. What happened next caught the villain off guard as a blue plasma beam from Predator's shoulder plasma cannon struck the villain in his skull-masked face, knocking the villain backwards. "Impressive. You managed to catch me off guard. You might actually prove to be a challenge," the villain complimented the injured hero. Suddenly, a second shot was fired, but this one went right over the villain's shoulder. "If that was your best shot, then I stand corrected on my previous statement," Taskmaster said in a disapproving tone as he picked up the injured hero by his throat, dragged him into a side room, and pulled him to his feet. "Did you really think that second shot would hit me?" The villain asked as he curled his right hand into a fist and prepared to knock the already injured hero into unconsciousness with one strong punch.

"Wasn't trying to…" The hero said in a barely audible whisper due to the villain crushing his throat with his left hand.

Taskmaster seemed confused for a split second as he slightly loosened his grasp on the hero's throat as he wondered what Predator meant. His answer came a few seconds later as he was hit in the back with such force that it sent him flying. It caused him to lose his grasp on Predator and drop him to the ground, where the armored hero was gasping for breath. Taskmaster quickly got his feet under him and looked around as to what hat hit him. His answer was a kick to the face from a heroine he thought he had subdued. It seemed that Predator's second shot was aimed at the control panel to the lock of the room he had locked Squirrel Girl in after ambushing the two heroes. The plasma blast had destroyed the panel, thus unlocking the door, and releasing the new very angry heroine. "How's this for not being much of a threat?!" SG raged as she delivered a right hook to the villain's jaw, following it up delivering a drop kick to the villain's gut, which caused the villain to stumble backwards. SG then finished with a diving jump kick that sent the villain flying backwards out of the room they were in, into the hallway they had come from. The villain quickly rose from his injured state and tried to rush back into the room, but SG quickly pressed a button on a door control and closed the door in the villain's face.

The villain tried punching to door a few times, but it was obvious that the door would easily take all of his punishment, and the villain quickly realized that and stopped trying to break in. "You cut me off," Taskmaster said through the closed door to the heroes on the other side, "but I will find another way to find you," the villain added in a dark laugh as he walked away to try and find another way into the room.

Once it was clear that Taskmaster wouldn't be able to enter their room, SG quickly rushed over to Predator who was currently lying on the floor. "Predator, are you alright?" SG asked as she frantically looked over her armored friend.

"I'm-." he began to say before he choked on his words. Using a great deal of strength, he was able to sit up and press the hidden button that retracted his armor, letting the cool air hit his face. What SG saw made her both gasp and cringe. Her friend's face was badly bruised and his jaw seemed to have swollen, but what happened next made her let out a small cry. Her friend leaned forward and spat out blood. "It's nothing," Predator said as he shakily got to his feet, only to fall immediately back to the cold hard ground.

"Warning, multiple fractures detected," his suit's AI informed him as his HUD began showing vital signs.

"Doreen, I need you to look at my back," Andrew said before he spat out more blood.

Doreen immediately hurried over to her injured friend to inspect his injuries. "Andrew," she said as she looked over his injuries, "I'm not going to lie, it's not good..." she said as she continued to look it over.

"How bad is it?" He asked her in a very pain-filled whisper.

"Your armor has been pierced," Doreen began before needing to look away from the mess for a second in order to not vomit. "Your back is also bleeding heavily. I don't think you can continue the mission in this state. I'll send out an emergency signal and get you a medical evacuation." SG said as she brought up her wrist communicator and turned it on.

"No," Andrew said as he pulled her wrist down. "I can go on," Andrew said as he slowly got to his feet. "My nanobots should heal this in less than an hour. We need to keep moving," Predator said as he started slowly walking towards the closed door that had sealed out Taskmaster.

"We don't know if he's still out there," SG said as she got in front of him and tried to keep him from moving forward.

Predator's response was to pull up a seemingly blank holographic display from his right wrist gauntlet. "He's not there," Predator said as he deactivated the display and pressed the button that opened the door.

"How are you so sure?" SG asked as she tugged on his arm to prevent her injured friend from leaving.

"What you just saw on my gauntlet was a heartbeat sensor, and it did not detect anything in the nearby area, so it's safe to move on. Come on, SG. We've got to move before he comes back," Predator said as he slightly lost his balance and began to fall, before being caught mid-fall by Squirrel Girl.

"Andrew, you are not going anywhere in this injured state," SG said with a firm yet concerned voice, "Would you let me fight if I was as injured as you?" She asked, trying to reason with her armored friend.

Predator stopped and pondered for a second what she had just asked him. "You got a point, Doreen," he admitted in a defeated tone.

"I'm glad you realize what the best thing to do is," Doreen said in an approving tone with a nod of her head. What happened next caught the heroine off guard as Predator turned towards her with surprising speed and fired both his Taser cables at his stunned friend. SG was too caught off guard to move as both his Tasers struck the unprepared hero in her stomach. The high voltage caused her to scream and then pass out from the intense electricity coursing through her body.

"I'm sorry, Doreen," Predator whispered as he deactivated the Tasers and retracted them from his unconscious friend, "but it's better if Taskmaster captures me since I can barely fight, as long as he does not get both of his mission will not be completed." The injured hero put his helmet back on and looked out into the hallway. Taskmaster didn't appear to be nearby, but Andrew knew the villain was the sneaky type. Suddenly, he had the sense that someone was above his head. "What the-" He managed to get out before a fist smashed into his back, knocking him out from the pain.

* * *

Some time later…

"I told you, I disabled his comm," an irritable Taskmaster said as Andrew came back to consciousness.

"I know that," a rather snooty voice replied, "and if I recall, I told you that the heroes, although hardly erudite beings, always manage to find ways to bypass this … complication." The voice paused, noting Andrew's being conscious. "Well, well. You certainly have a short recovery period from pain."

"Where… where am I?" Andrew asked.

"Where else? In my inner sanctum," the voice replied.

Predator looked up to try and look at his captor, but his vision was blurred. "I know who you are," he said, not bothering to try and get free. The metal cuffs were more than enough to hold him in place.

"Do you really?" The figure asked.

Andrew nodded. He didn't actually know who it was, but he was trying to bide for time while his vision cleared. "I also know that it's only a matter of time before my friends find me," he claimed.

"Don't get your hopes up," Taskmaster rebutted. "This place is protected by 6-inch titanium walls. No one's getting into here unless we want them to."

"Oh, really?" Andrew asked as his vision cleared. He recognized the villain before him: a tall green head with short black hair, balanced out by a short, thin stature. "I know four big guys, and a big girl, who know how to get into places, Leader."

The green villain arched a long eyebrow. "Really?" He asked. "You will have to forgive me if I do not believe you, Predator," he said. "I've taken precautions to ensure those lumbering giants do not interfere with my plans," he said, turning back to what appeared to be a lab table. "You did well retrieving those samples," he said to Taskmaster.

"What?" Andrew asked, confused. "You…you dropped those samples," he said.

"I always get a spare," Taskmaster replied. There was a dull thud outside the door. "What was that?" He asked.

Andrew smiled widely under his helmet. "They're coming," he said in an ominous tone.

Before Leader could say anything, the door buckled inward, punched by two sets of fists. "We're coming in, so get out of the way!" Power Man shouted.

"SMASH!" Hulk shouted as the door crumpled inward under the onslaught of the two strongmen. The third punch caused the door to fly inward, destroying the lab bench and what was on it. "Well, well," Hulk said as he walked into the room. "I guess I'm not surprised. Nice to see you again, Leader."

"Yes. Nice to see you too," Leader replied, frowning deeply.

Power Man walked forward and cuffed the telepathic villain. Taskmaster had disappeared when the door had imploded, and Andrew wasn't looking too steady. "Are you okay?" Power Man asked.

"Gee, what do you think?" Andrew said. He sighed, and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Yeah, he's not okay," Spider-Man said as Red Hulk picked Predator up.

"Kid's tough," Red Hulk admitted as he looked at Andrew's back. "He's got a lot of shrapnel in his back. We better get him back to the Academy."

"Let's go, then," Squirrel Girl said as the heroes went back to their Quinjets and set off for the Academy.

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	24. Chapter 24

**Alright guys we have less than five chapter remaing until the end of book one. Rest assured there are at least five more books in the Predator saga.**

"Hang in there!" the concerned voice of possibly Spider-Man called out to him, but it trailed away. Andrew's bewildered mind reeled back time, and suddenly, he remembered lying in a hospital bed...

"I'm giving you a second chance to fight, Private Steele," A familiar voice was saying to Andrew, as a man he knew all too well approached his hospital bed. "I give you my word that you will be able to help more far people than when you with the Marines. What do you think..."

The man faded away, replaced with Doreen as Predator regained consciousness. She was running alongside him... and he was laying on a stretcher, likely headed towards the nearest hospital. He groaned and tried to move, but she stopped him. "Don't move, Andy! We're going to get you help." The blackness pulled him back into its powerful grip.

"I want you to meet your team, or as I like to say, your new family..." The man he had remembered from earlier was now introducing him to three people sitting in a sparse living room. Three young adults, one man and two women, all close to his age.

"Nice to meet you, mate," the only other guy in the room greeted him with a British accent. "My call sign is Chill Blaine," he said as he shook Andrew's hand with a big smile on his face.

"Call me Silver Fox," one of the two women, a blonde, said as she stood up and shook his hand.

The final member of the group leaned back in her seat, looking him over. She wore glasses, her hair was auburn. Andrew approached her and held out his hand for a handshake. "I've been given the code name Predator. What's yours?"

"Aegis..." she replied without shaking his hand.

She abruptly disappeared, replaced by White Tiger, stalking ahead of his stretcher and moving people out of the way. "Try and stop the blood flow!" She called back.

"I'm doing my best!" Power Man was trying to keep pace with the stretcher, keeping his hands clamped as best he could over Andrew's wound. "Hang in there, bro. You're going to make it..." Power Man said as he tried to comfort the barely conscious hero, but it did little as the Andrew once again sank away from the realm of the living and back into the darkness.

He was standing beneath a massive pine tree, somewhere in eastern Russia... "Aegis, something's up with comms, and we are not in the dark zone yet," Predator said to his teammate.

"He did warn us that this could happen," Aegis said as she stopped moving and activated a holographic map from her wrist.

"But we are not in the dark zone... Something's not right. I'm going to try contact someone-" Before Andrew could continue, his suits' HUD lit up with warnings.

{{Warning! Error detected in Neural Linkup!}}

Andrew turned to look at Aegis to see her removing her owl-like helmet. "Andrew, something's wrong. We need to get out of these suits-"

Andrew convulsed as what felt like white-hot knives shot into his spine. "Ahhhh!" Andrew dropped to his knees and began rolling and screaming in pain. "Eject!" He yelled through his pain. It felt like his spine was getting burnt and clawed out at the same time.

{{Emergency eject offline...}}

Andrew's stomach dropped. "Override, code 15!" Andrew yelled, and his suit immediately folded back and spat him out. Andrew lay writhing on the ground next to his suit for a moment, trying to think through the pain. He brought his hand to touch his back and was met with a warm crimson colored liquid that he knew all too well.

"Cynthia..." he croaked to her as he spat out blood and tried crawling to her. Instead of words, he was meet by a blood curdling scream, one he as well recognized.

Andrew attempted to stand, but his knees buckled and he fell back in to the cold, foreign soil. Looking up, he could see her standing there screaming, trying to get her suit to eject her."I can't eject!" She said before continuing to scream. Andrew felt adrenaline pumping in his system as he, using the last of his strength, was able to make it to his feet. Very shakily, he tried to move towards her. All the while, he could feel blood pooling out of his back, and he could feel his strength leaving his body with every drop...

Bright lights shone into his eyes, and Andrew regained consciousness. He was now being wheeled into an operating room. "Predator needs help!" Spidey yelled as the familiar face of Dr. Connors rushed into the room, hurriedly pulling on surgical scrubs. Andrew's vision began to blur and fade again, but something was different this time. He felt like he was being pulled further and further away from the operating room, from his friends... Was he dying?

"His vitals are dropping," Dr. Connors said as Predator's vision turned black, the last thing he heard was, "Predator stay with me son!"

Squirrel Girl yelped loudly and jumped back, causing everyone to look at her. The hair on her tail was standing up on end, making her look like she'd been scared by something. "The suit just shocked me!" She said.

Dr. Connors ran over. "Great," he said. "That just made my job a bit harder." He began looking at Andrew's vitals. Strangely enough, they were improving. "Well, I've got good news," he said. "It looks like those nanobots of his are patching up his wounds. He's gonna make it."

"Good," Squirrel Girl sighed in relief. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he died." Something occurred to her. "Wait. What about that shock thing?" She asked.

"I'm betting that was some version of a defibrillator," Dr. Connors replied. "His heart's beating, and he's gonna heal. He's got to have his rest, though," he added.

Taking the hint, the heroes left the room, Ava pulling Doreen to the side. "Are you okay?" She asked. "It sounded like you got a rather nasty shock."

"Well, it was a rather 'shocking experience'," Doreen joked, "but I'll be fine," she assured the heroine.

"Okay," White Tiger replied. "Why'd you say that you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if Andrew died? Do you have a crush on him or something?" She asked.

Doreen turned away so that her friend couldn't see her red face. "I... don't know what you're talking about," she said. "I just ... felt really bad that I couldn't save him from Taskmaster because the guy locked me out the first time, and Andrew knocked me out the second time."

White Tiger nodded. "You can't blame yourself for that," she said, noting her friend's odd reaction. "He knocked you out to keep you out of Skull-face's hands. That's on him, not you. Anyways, Andrew's gonna be fine, and he's getting his rest. I'm gonna get some rest, and you should, too, young lady," she said.

"You're not even that much older than I am," Squirrel Girl rebutted, even as she took the Latina heroine's advice. She could use a rest. After making her way to the dorms, she laid down in her bunk. (Please be okay, Andrew...) She thought as she drifted off to sleep.

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	25. Chapter 25

**Alright my loyal friends this is part one of the climax, next chapter will be the final fight for this story, with one or two more chapters after this. Hope you enjoy.**

"Nice try, Doreen," Predator complimented as SG tried to hit him with a jump kick. Predator's response was to attempt a sweeping kick to take out his friend's legs. Needless to say, the squirrel hero merely jumped over the attack with her natural agility and landed a powerful kick to her friends back. "That one actually hurt," Predator said with a slight pained voice that made SG lower her guard.

"Andy, if I hurt your back, I think we should stop. I mean, you've only been out of the hospital for two days, aren't you afraid of hurting your back again?" SG asked with both a concerned voice and a concerned look on her usually chipper face.

"Nonsense," Andrew rebuked as he launched a grappling hook at his friend, which she easily dodged. "I might be a little sore, but I've got to get back into shape. Who knows how long it will be till we are called to action? I'd rather be prepared for when that time comes," Andrew said as he threw a right hook at his friend.

"I'm getting tired of jumping over your attacks," Doreen said in a joking tone. However, Andrew had been wanting her to jump. With the reflexes of a viper, he quickly launched the grappling hook from his left gauntlet and snagged the airborne heroine in her stomach. With a sharp pull, she was quickly pulled back towards the ground. Andrew followed up by delivering a left hook into her gut when she was in range, causing the squirrel hero to hunch over. Clearly, she had gotten the wind knocked out of her.

"That should make you stay on the ground." Andrew said as he threw another right hook at the hero. However, Doreen quickly recovered from her injured state and caught his armored right fist with surprising strength, Doreen smirked and delivered a jump kick to the armored hero's jaw, which sent Andrew flying back. "I give, Doreen," Andrew groaned softly as he sat up, rubbing his sore jaw. While his nanobots had healed his wounds, his jaw still ached a lot.

Doreen walked over and helped the armored hero to his feet. "Sorry," she apologized. "I totally forgot about that jaw of yours."

"That's alright," Andrew replied.

* * *

-Meanwhile-

Omeran looked around her small cell in the Academy. She had no way of knowing for sure, but her gut told her that help was on the way. (Soon,) she thought. (Soon, you will regret keeping me here.) There was a soft clattering noise behind her. The pale woman didn't react, but she knew what it meant. "How did you get in here?" She asked.

"I hacked the motion sensors," a familiar voice replied. "Hold still," the voice added. Omeran held still, and she felt a burst of cold on her wrists. She sharply moved her arms forward, breaking the cuffs and causing her pain in her healing shoulder. "Sorry about that," the figure apologized as he broke the cuffs off Omeran's feet. "What do you say about us getting out of here?" He asked.

"It is never that easy, Chill," Omeran replied.

* * *

-Meanwhile-

"Andrew…" Doreen began, looking nervously at the ground to hide her flushed face. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about…"

"What is it?" Andrew asked, wondering what could be causing Doreen to act the way she was.

The squirrel heroine sighed softly. "Andrew…" She started. Before she could finish, the alarm went off. [INTRUDER ALERT IN PRISON LEVEL! INTRUDER ALERT IN PRISON LEVEL!] The alarm blared. "Never mind! It can wait!" Doreen said hurriedly.

Andrew wondered what Doreen wanted to talk about, but he agreed with her. "Let's continue it later," he replied as he ran down the hallway. He ran toward the prison level, and he wasn't surprised to see two figures in the hallway. "Why am I not surprised?" He asked.

"Well, you know what they say: what goes around comes around," Chill replied, settling into a combat stance.

"You're playing for the wrong side," Andrew warned, settling into his own combat stance.

"Thanks for the tip, coach," Omeran replied with finely honed sarcasm. She looked at the group of heroes gathering behind Predator and Squirrel Girl, and she saw an all-too-familiar figure. "Time for a rematch," she said, looking at Power Man.

"I agree," Chill replied. "Hey, Andrew. What do ya say we settle this like gentlemen? Just the two of us,"

"I agree," Predator replied, walking forward.

The armored hero followed Chill Blaine into a side room, which was frozen shut from the inside, ensuring outside interference wouldn't be an issue. "Try to give me a challenge," Omeran said, taunting the remaining heroes. "Don't hold back."

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	26. Chapter 26

Predator and Chill Blaine circled each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. "You haven't changed a bit, Chill," Predator said as he tried looking for a weakness in his enemy's form.

"I could say the same for you, Andrew," Chill Blaine replied as he suddenly brought up his hands and shot icicles at his old friend.

Predator's response was to fire his plasma cannon, effectively melting the icicles mid-flight and turning them to steam due to the intense heat of the plasma blasts. "You always start most of your fights with that move," Predator snarled as he fired several plasma blasts at his opponent, to which his opponent easily side stepped the attack. "Yet you make up for your predictability by a steady defense. Strange. I remember you having a pure offensive approach," Predator pondered as his AI continued to draw up a battle plan.

"Things change, Andrew. You should know that better than anyone. You were our leader," Chill said before pausing to take a breath. "We followed you into battle many times. You always lead us to victory. We looked up to you," Chill said as he took a dep breath as he prepared his energy for his next attack. "That is, until you killed Cynthia!" Chill yelled in rage as he clapped his hands together and created a swirling torrent of ice that struck his armored opponent.

"You know ice has no effect on adamantium," Predator mocked as the swirling torrent of sharp ice simply struck his armor without leaving any physical marking. He took aim and fired another plasma blast at his opponent. This time, his aim was true, as the blue blast struck his opponent in his armored chest, knocking him backwards into a wall, "but my plasma cannon can melt ice, and I'm also suspecting it can melt your armor," Predator snarled as he charged up and fired a plasma beam at his weakened opponent. The blue beam struck his opponent in the gut and seemed to force him back deeper into the wall, but to his surprise, his armored enemy put his armored palms up to block the beam and started walking towards him, bringing the beam with him.

* * *

Omeran looked at the heroes before her. "So, you are the finest S.H.I.E.L.D. has to offer," she said sarcastically. "Frankly, I'm underwhelmed."

"Underwhelmed or not, it's time for a rematch," White Tiger growled, claws extended.

"Indeed," Omeran replied coldly, staring at Power Man, who was standing right in front of Cloak. "I could say the same thing to you," she added, directing the remark at the shades-wearing hero.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Power Man asked.

The heroes surged forward, but a forest of cables shot up to greet them. Power Man quickly became entangled in them, as was White Tiger. Dagger was caught, but began cutting her way out with her light daggers, while Cloak evaded capture entirely. "Booyah!" Nova shouted as he appeared behind Omeran with Cloak's help. "Prepare to go down!" He shouted. A piece of sheet metal from the floor slapped him aside and wrapped around him, holding him in place.

Omeran stood there, breathing a bit heavily as her right arm dangled. She was still recovering from getting her shoulder broken, but she could still fight. Before she could do anything, Cloak appeared behind her and attempted to engulf her, but she dodged, managing to trap the teleporting hero. She was interrupted by the sound of Power Man ripping himself free of the wires. "Great," Omeran muttered…

* * *

"So, it seems you upgraded your armor," Predator mused as his HUD brought up warning signs about the plasma beam getting pushed back at him, "but it doesn't matter," Predator sighed. He increased power to his cannon, and the result came a few seconds later as the beam overpowered his enemy and pushed him back into the wall.

"How about a fair fight, Andrew!?" Chill yelled as the plasma beam began to heat up his normally ice cold armor.

"Why should I give you a fair fight?" Predator snarled as he continued to focus his beam on his struggling opponent, "You broke into the Academy, attacked and badly hurt Squirrel Girl and White Tiger. You didn't give them a fair fight," Predator raged as he turned his beam's energy, even all the while his AI was warning him that the continued energy to the Plasma Cannon was draining his suits energy rapidly.

"To be honest, I only attacked Squirrel Girl. Omeran took care of White Tiger," Chill said as he formed a small ice barrier between him and the intense heat that threatened to start melting his armor.

"I don't care. You should not have attacked my friends!" Predator yelled as he began to walk towards Chill Blaine.

Suddenly, his plasma cannon sparked blue sparks and shut off. {Warning: suit energy low. Re-directing remaining power to armor and shielding,} his AI informed him as it indicated that his suit was only at 45 percent power.

"Great," Predator snarled as he realized the consequences of his constant attack.

"What's the matter, running low on power?" Chill mocked as he stood up from the wall he had been pushed into and began firing icicles rapid fire at his opponent. This time, Predator had to raise his arms and block the sharp ice that was aimed at his face. "Your suit always run low on energy in the middle of a fight," Chill said as he continued to blast his opponent with icicles.

Predator began punching Chill in the face, his adamantium-coated fists battering his opponent. "Good thing I've still got energy," he replied, not letting up.

"So, it's a fist fight," Chill said as he began countering with his own punches, coating his fists with ice. It didn't work, as Predator began forcing Chill toward the door with a relentless barrage. "Still a better chance than what you gave Aegis," Chill said, taunting Predator.

Predator tried to punch him in the face, but his fist ended up shattering the ice freezing the door shut. "I told you already," he growled. "I…DID…NOT…KILL…CYNTHIA!" He shouted, getting the attention of the heroes, who had almost overcome Omeran.

"Well then, who did?" Chill asked, realizing the truth of Andrew's statement, as he inched his way toward the exit, Omeran mirroring his steps.

"Ask the one who recruited us," Andrew growled. His arm cannon sparked a little, looking like it was charging up again. Chill and Omeran chose to beat a hasty retreat, Omeran groaning as her right arm moved with each step. "And don't come back!" Andrew shouted after them. Cloak attempted to chase after them, but some wires shot up and wrapped around Dagger's ankle. The cloaked hero immediately turned around to free his friend, and by then, the intruders were long gone. "Well, that's not exactly something you see every day," Andrew dryly remarked.

"If I never see that ice guy and his bald girlfriend again, it'll be too soon," Squirrel Girl remarked.

Andrew chuckled. "No disagreement there," he remarked. "Everyone okay?" He asked.

"She beat me again!" White Tiger said, clearly unhappy. "Other than that, I'm fine." Everyone else was fine, too.

Andrew sighed, looking at the mess of cables and metal lying all over the place. "Well, looks like we have a mess to clean up," he said, "and some security to beef up. We don't want those two coming back…" Everyone agreed and began cleaning up the mess, Doreen wondering to herself what Andrew could have meant by "ask the one who recruited us". Who knew what other secrets the armored hero could be hiding…

To be continued…

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	27. Chapter 27

**Alright my loyal friends this is the second to last chapter before the end of book one. Rest assuredf we plan to get book two out in possibly two weeks. Also it turns out I have been spelling Chill's name wrong since I forgot how Duroth write it orginally (he came up witht the nane) so hopefully that explains why it's different.**

 **Also you will find out who Andrew gets with in chapter one of book 2. Please tell me who you hope he gets with and why.**

[INTRUDER ALERT AT MAIN ENTRANCE! INTRUDER ALERT AT MAIN ENTRANCE!], the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy's alarm blared which caused all the young heroes to cease their current activities and rush towards the front entrance.

"We really need a better security system that tells us of the threat before it arrives," Predator snarled as he sprinted towards the main doors alongside several other heroes.

"I really hope it's not Icicle Man, or the bald lady again," Doreen grumbled as she appeared behind Predator.

Soon the ensemble group of heroes arrived at the Academy door: Predator, SG, Dagger, Cloak, White Tiger, Power Man, Spider-Man, and Nova. All the heroes took up fighting stances upon seeing what had just burst through the doors. "Thought I told you not to come back, Chillblain." Predator snarled as he activated both his gauntlets claws, and his plasma cannon activated and took aim at his enemy.

The other SHIELD Academy heroes activated their powers as well. Nova power, tendrils of shadow, blades made of light and web-shooters all pointed themselves at the armored cryokinetic. "I'm not here to fight, Andrew," Chillnlain said in a calm and collected tone as he raised both his hands in a sign of surrender.

"Forgive me if I don't believe you," Predator snarled as his cannon began charging up a shot. Noticing this Spider-Man quickly webbed the opening of his armored ally's plasma cannon, sealing it shut. "What was that for?" Predator hissed without turning to face his leader.

"If he's here to surrender, we shouldn't attack him. He's surrendering himself to our authority, and we shouldn't abuse it," Spider-Man explained.

This only got an angered huff in response. "Forgive me if I disagree..." Predator snarled as he factored a webbed plasma cannon into his calculations.

"Would you believe me if I did this?" Chilblain asked, pressing a button under his helmets chin. Starting with the helmet, the suit of power armor opened like a flower, allowing Chillblain to step out. As soon as he had left the armor, the suit's helmet reformed and the armor closed up, leaving the empty suit standing still. With a hiss, every light on the suit turned off, and every vent shut, putting the armor in full lock down.

"Maybe I believe you a little now," Predator said as he retracted his claws into his gauntlets, Chilblain exhaled a sigh of relief. "I'm still not taking any chances. Spidey, it's your call." Predator said as he turned to face his leader.

The web-slinging hero pondered for a few seconds before coming up with an answer. "Let's take him to a prison cell and get some answers out of him," Spidey said as he walked behind their surrendered enemy and proceeded to web his hands behind his back, effectively rendering his hands useless, or at least so he thought.

"Chill has ice powers as you know. He could freeze off those webs," Predator warned his leader.

Before the web-slinging hero could reply, Chillblain spoke up. "I don't want to fight you anymore, Andrew," the defeated ice-man said as he hung his head low in defeat. "I just want the truth about what happened to Cynthia. I judged you before I asked for your side of the story. Please tell me what happened to her."

"You really want the truth, don't you?" Predator asked quietly.

"Please, mate..." Chillblain asked with such a pained expression that it was obvious that he truly meant it.

"Alright, then. I'll tell you what happened," Predator said, his mind reeling back in time to that day in Russia...

* * *

He was standing beneath a massive pine tree, somewhere in eastern Russia... "Aegis, something's up with comms, and we are not in the dark zone yet," Predator said to his teammate.

"He did warn us that this could happen," Aegis said as she stopped moving and activated a holographic map from her wrist.

"But we are not in the dark zone... Something's not right. I'm going to try contact someone-"

Before Andrew could continue, his suits' HUD lit up with warnings. {{Warning! Error detected in Neural Linkup!}}

Andrew turned to look at Aegis to see her removing her owl-like helmet. "Andrew, something's wrong. We need to get out of these suits-" Andrew convulsed as what felt like white-hot knives shot into his spine. "Ahhhh!" Andrew dropped to his knees and began rolling and screaming in pain. "Eject!" He yelled through his pain. It felt like his spine was getting burnt and clawed out at the same time.

{{Emergency eject offline...}}

Andrew's stomach dropped. "Override, code 15!" Andrew yelled, and his suit immediately folded back and spat him out. Andrew lay writhing on the ground next to his suit for a moment, trying to think through the pain. He brought his hand to touch his back, and he was met with a warm crimson colored liquid that he knew all too well. "Cynthia..." he croaked to her as he spat out blood and tried crawling to her. Instead of words, he was meet by a blood curdling scream, one he recognized, as well.

Andrew attempted to stand, but his knees buckled and he fell back in to the cold, foreign soil. Looking up, he could see her standing there screaming, trying to get her suit to eject her. "I can't eject!" She said before continuing to scream.

Andrew felt adrenaline pumping in his system as he, using the last of his strength, was able to make it to his feet. Very shakily, he tried to move towards her. All the while, he could feel blood pooling out of his back, and he could feel his strength leaving his body with every drop. He fell back unto the cold foreign soil and was met with a deafening silence. "Cynthia..." he tried calling to her, but was met by nothing. Looking up from where he lay, he could see her laying in the cold dirt. Mustering up what little strength he had left, he crawled through the grass and the dirt towards her as fast as his crippled body would allow as he soon reached his silent friend.

"Cynthia," he said desperately as he looked her over, hoping for a response. The answer was an heart-rending silence. Andrew reached down and pressed the hidden button that retracted her helmet and was met with a grim site. His friend's face had blood flowing from both her nostrils. Her mouth was closed, but her brown eyes were open and were staring at him, almost as if she was just watching the clouds. Andrew refused to give up, even though his heart knew it was too late. He tried performing CPR with his bare hands in an attempt to start her heart again. He screamed at her suit, hoping that the programming would accept his commands and activate the Emergency Medical Systems, but nothing happened.

"Cynthia..." he said in a barely audible pain filled whisper as he let his right hand slid his palm over his face and close her eyes for the last time…

* * *

"I … can't believe it…" Chill murmured as he fell to his knees in disbelief. "But … that means…"

"Yes," Predator replied. "He lied. To you, to Omeran, to everyone."

"Then what's the point?" Chill muttered to himself. After a few moments, he looked up to look Spider-Man in the eye. "I can give you lots of information to help you people take down my former employer, but I want something in return."

"What is it?" Spider-Man asked.

"I want in," Chill replied bluntly. "I want to fight. Make sure Cynthia didn't die in vain."

Predator frowned. "I don't know…" He said.

"I don't know, either," Spider-Man added. "We'll have to think about this one."

Chill Blaine shrugged his shoulders. "I'll take it," he said. "I'll take it." Suddenly, he realized what he was doing. Not only was he fighting Omeran, a tough opponent to face, he was also fighting some former friends of his. (It'll be worth it,) he told himself. (It's gotta be…)

 **Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread**


	28. Chapter 28

**Alright my friends this is it, the last chapter of book one. I want to thank you all for your loyalty and kindness towards us.**

 **To the anonymous reviewer "Ultimate" I want to ask you, are you OK with whoever Andrew gets with in the end? A lot can happen in six books so anything can happen.**

"Alright, if you want in, keep up your end of the bargain and tell us what you know," Spider-Man said as he along with White Tiger and Predator stood around the desk that the surrendered cryokinetic was seated at, while Director Fury and Coulson sat in an observation room, watching the whole scene.

"Where do you want me to begin?" Chill asked his interrogators.

"Why don't you tell us your name?" Spidey requested.

Chill looked uncertain, but noticed Predator give a slight head nod, and Chill decided to obey his former leader's gesture. "My name is Marcus Woods, I was born in 1997 in London, England," Marcus answered. Director Fury put the name into a computer. To his satisfaction, the name came back with no criminal history.

"It's obvious you worked with Andrew on something," White Tiger said with a slight nod to her armored companion. "Since Predator is slightly reluctant to fill us in, would you mind giving us details on what your line of work was?" The heroine asked, which brought Marcus to full attention in his seat.

"I was recruited at age 18 by a paramilitary contractor who offered me a job," Marcus began before taking a drink of water that had been given to him prior to the interrogation. "It was a good job, steady pay and benefits, and best of all, we were keeping the world safe without anyone knowing we existed."

"Is that where you met Predator?" Spidey asked him.

Marcus nodded. "Yeah. That's where I met Andrew," he said with a glance to Predator.

"Marcus," Andrew said as he retracted his helmet so he could look Marcus in the eye, "I'll answer all questions from here," he said, which surprised everyone in the room, including those in observation.

"Predator, we are questioning Marcus, not you," White Tiger objected.

Andrew raised a hand to silence his field handler. "First, please call me Andrew," Andrew softly requested, "and second, I worked with Marcus for over a year between early 2015 and early 2016, so I as well should be questioned," Andrew explained as he moved over and took the empty seat next to Marcus.

"Director Fury, do you approve of this?" Spidey asked openly since he knew the Director could hear due to the listening equipment present in the small room.

"Let him talk" was their leader's simple response over a hidden speaker.

"Alright then," Spidey said as he tried to calculate new questions do the change in circumstances.

"What was the name of the group you both worked for?" White Tiger asked before Spidey could.

"Our group is the Diamondbacks," Andrew answered, which prompted Fury to ask a question over the hidden speaker.

"Were you affiliated with Captain America's villain Diamondback?" the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. asked the two of them.

They both huffed before Marcus answered calmly, "We've never heard of a villain of that name."

"Alright, then. Would you mind telling us how many personnel make up the Diamondbacks?" Spidey asked.

"I can't give exact numbers," Marcus said as he looked to Andrew for help. "You led our team, Andrew. Did he ever tell you exact numbers?" Marcus said with the hope that Andrew would have answers.

"He never told me exacts. All he said was that our numbers were growing on a daily base," Andrew said as he tried to remember even the smallest piece of information that could answer the question.

"If you had to guess?" White Tiger asked hopefully.

"Several hundred, maybe a few thousand. I honestly just don't know," Andrew replied as he shook his head in confusion.

"You kept saying 'he,'" White Tiger said in a suspicious tone. "Who is 'he?'" She asked both men sitting at the table.

Andrew and Marcus both turned to face each-other and exchanged a rather nervous look before nodding in agreement. "The person you're asking about is the man who recruited us, and he was our boss," Andrew said before pausing to take a breath. "He goes by the code-name "Tony", but the real name of the man we're going to be after is Raymond Sullivan," Andrew said with a hint of venom in his voice, and Marcus clenched his right hand into a fist.

Up in observation, Fury and Coulson exchanged a grim look, for they had heard of this name, and they knew a little about him. "Sir, have you ever heard of this guy?" Spidey once again asked openly.

"We have heard of Raymond Sullivan," Fury said as their computer in observation pulled up a file of the man, "He's a retired United States Senator," Fury said before needing to take a breath, "and he served one term as an Independent representing the state of Maine before being voted out in a landslide two years go," Fury said, which surprised both Spidey and White Tiger, they had not expected their target to be an ex-political figure.

"What was his political stance?" White Tiger asked.

"We don't have much on him due to him having a clean criminal history. Andrew, does this man pose a potential threat to the United States and her allies?"

"Potentially yes," Andrew said as he carefully chose his next words, "but Sullivan was obsessed with protecting the United States. He never had any ill intentions towards our country," Andrew said, which came as a surprise to everyone but Marcus.

"That's enough for now. We can release both of them for the time being," Fury replied, which came as a surprise to the two heroes who were doing the questioning.

"What about Marcus?" Spidey asked.

"I said release both of them," Fury ordered calmly as he and Agent Coulson both began to have a talk in Observation.

* * *

"Alright, you two," White Tiger said once the four of them were outside the interrogation room, "Is Sullivan the one who killed Cynthia?" she asked bluntly.

Andrew looked her in the eyes before replying. "Yes. He was the only one who had the codes to sabotage our armors, so there is nobody else responsible," Andrew replied which caused Marcus to growl under his breath. "I'll freeze his bones next time I see that old man," Marcus snarled as he formed ice on his hand and then shattered it by making a fist.

"Get in line. He killed my girlfriend, I'm going to be the one to end it," Andrew snarled, which earned an approving nod from his former teammate.

"We're not going to kill this guy when we find him," Spidey said as he turned to face the two men whom they questioned. "We will find him, arrest him, and then put him on trial for Cynthia's murder. We cannot play judge, jury, and executioner. We are heroes, let's make sure we act like them," Spidey said to both the angry young men who he was now responsible for.

Both Andrew and Marcus turned to look towards each-other and then nodded in a silent agreement. "Maybe you're right, Spidey" Andrew replied, which made Spidey grin under his mask, "but I cannot guarantee how I react when I see that man again. If I get out of control, do what's needed to be done..." Andrew ordered the three of them, to which they nodded silently.

* * *

-Meanwhile-

"Predator has left the fold, and your friend Chill is a traitor," Sullivan said, the mans features obscured by darkness. "I have a special task for you."

"Name it," the blonde woman replied.

"Go, and show Andrew and Chill the error of their ways," the man ordered.

"What of their friend?" The woman asked.

"It will take time for her injuries to heal," the voice replied. "She will join you when her shoulder is all good."

"I will depart immediately," the blonde woman said, disconnecting the link.

Sullivan nodded. "And so it begins…"

* * *

 **Alright, my friends. This is the end of "Trials of the Predator." I want to thank everyone who worked on this story:**

 **Nobel Six: Creator, Writer.**

 **The Dark Lord Duroth: Partner, Co-Creator, and Writer.**

 **Darkest Nightmare's Dread: Editor, Writer.**

 **The Story's Shadow: Creative Consultant.**

 **OfficialUSMWriter: Backup Writer**

 **morgn: Author who helped write parts of chapters six and seven.**

 **And last, but certainly not least, I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed this story. It means the world to us that you made this story as popular as it is. You all know who you are, and we hope you will enjoy book two as much as we will enjoy writing it.**

 **Coming: 11-8-16 or 11-14-16: "Hunt of the Predator"**


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